2018 - Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Chateau des Ducs, Michel Lafarge

It will be very interesting to compare the 2018 Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Château des Ducs with the Clos des Chênes 20 years from now. Though the latter has long been the domaine's emblematic bottling, for several years the Lafarge family has taken to presenting Clos du Château des Ducs at the end of the tasting, and it's priced slightly higher too. Destemmed entirely by hand, the wine reveals a generous bouquet of sweet berries, licorice, rich soil tones, black truffles and spice, followed by a medium to full-bodied palate that's more expressive and enveloping, its textural attack segueing into a deep core, concluding with a long and precise finish.

The 2018 Volnay Clos du Château des Ducs 1er Cru has a little more transparency and elegance on the nose compared to its peers, brambly red fruit with a touch of sous-bois and tobacco leaf. The palate is well-defined with fine tannins. A crisp line of acidity imparts tension with more sapidity than its peers. Harmonious, fine weight in the mouth with a Pommard-like grip on the finish, this is a finely crafted, commendable Volnay, one that defies the negative tropes of the vintage. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 red tasting.

Deep gravel on top of limestone. Protected from frost. Walls around the vineyard and always an early harvest. Hand-destemmed. Barrel sample. Pure, ripe, fragrant red fruit. Sweet cherry and lightly floral. Lots of underlying power here, deep and rich, and yet it seems so welcoming. Smooth, compact, fresh and perfectly balanced between the fruit and the framework, very very long. (JH)