The big daddy of Volnay!
The 2023 Volnay Clos des Chênes 1er Cru has a delineated and focused bouquet with a discrete floral element. Its pure red fruit notes gain intensity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied and nicely poised with grainy tannins, gentle grip and a slight lactic note toward the finish that will be subsumed. Very fine. (Drink between 2026-2044). 91-93 Points
From two plots, one high up on very white soil. Medium deep ruby, with quite an austere nose, not quite giving yet. Elevage is bringing the 2023s on brilliantly, thinks Marc-Olivier, but Clos des Chênes remains a tough beast, albeit with a touch of velvet on the bones and a long finish. 90-93 Points
Tamlyn Currin, Jancis Robinson
Full bottle 1,369 g. 18 months in oak barrels. Light oak spiciness and faint rose petals on the nose. The fruit is very much taking its cue from the oak at the moment and holding well back, although the wine is lip-smackingly juicy. And those tannins, while artlessly raw right now, are limber and seductively long. Rose hips and raspberries, autumn leaves and walnuts and a great swathe of blood-orange sweet-tart acidity flooding the finish. (Drink between 2028-2040). 17/20
