93/95

This is the first wine to exhibit enough oak to warrant mentioning though it's not so much to dominate the spicy and earth black cherry liqueur-like aromas. The sleek middle weight plus flavors are given shape by the fine but dense tannins that carry over to the impressively persistent finish that is exquisitely well-balanced.This is an exercise in harmony and grace that should be approachable after 6 to 8 years if desired. 2027+ .

The Champans features Champans juicy dark fruits as well as some tannins. Overall, its quite elegant for Champans, which can often veer to the fleshy. 93+/A .

94 point

strong, creamy ripe fruit, great intensity and concentration, refined, complex and with fine balance. Long meaty finish. Excellent wine.

93/95

The 2015 Volnay 1er Cru Champans has a very charming, very pure and seductive bouquet with copious blackberry, raspberry preserve and limestone scents. With a few swirls of the glass it become floral and even more enticing. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. It it not as generous as the bouquet at the moment, but there is purity and verve here, very sophisticated and showing immense precision on the finish. I can imagine this being backward for 3-5 years after bottling, so be prepared to cellar this and reap the rewards later.

93 point

The 2015 Volnay 1er Cru Champans is superb, wafting from the glass with notes of cassis, red cherry, raspberry and candied peel that is still very fruit driven, savory nuances only emerging with extended aeration. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, powerful and muscular, with an authoritative chassis of fine-grained but firm tannins and a deep core of crunchy fruit. This is shutting down, but it's full of promise for the future. 2025 - 2045 .

95 point

There's more clay in the soil here than in some of Volnay's bonier vineyards and the wine it produces tends to be more comely and plush. It's still a pretty serious wine with plenty of structure and tannins, but the fruit is ripe and ample with succulent sweetness. 2024-32 .

93/96

Bright medium ruby. Mineral-driven aromas of blackberry, cassis, licorice, bitter chocolate and crushed stone, plus a touch of sweet oak. Suave, silky black fruit and violet flavors show absolutely no rough edges. The wonderfully refined tannins arrive late, allowing the fruit to open beautifully on the very long, palate-staining finish. An outstanding wine with a compellingly rich, layered texture, this was racked in July, like the Clos des Ducs .

95 point

(13.5% alcohol): Saturated ruby. Youthfully imploded aromas and flavors of blackberry, cassis and licorice show no roasted character ("the color of the wine is the only thing that gives away the vintage," noted Guillaume d'Angerville). More pliant than the 2016 but with a magical sugar/acid equilibrium and a complicating element of savory minerality. This insidiously palate-saturating wine finishes with outstanding slatey persistence and grip. I would imagine that this will be long-lived but will it ever really shut down in the bottle? It's hard to imagine that this fruit was harvested on September 4.

94 point

Pure and elegant, this red offers black cherry, black currant, mineral and spice flavors that mesh beautifully with the supple texture and well-integrated structure. Long and detailed on the energetic finish. Best from 2023 through 2040.-B.S.