Tasting Notes
JancisRobinson.com 18
Bright, transparent crimson with grainy tannins and exceptionally fresh and racy, but it commands one heck of a premium … (JR)
Anticipated maturity: 2023-2035
Vinous 95
The 2017 Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er Cru is the famous crown jewel monopole of the domaine, ostensibly the rear garden with its own spring. Initially it is showing some reduction on the nose, although it dissipates with aeration. It is certainly reticent at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the entry. It provides that arching structure that defines this vineyard and gives it its longevity, yet paradoxically the mouth sensation is supple and smooth, with just a touch of spice tingling on the finish. Noble, and aristocratic – just how a Clos des Ducs ought to be.
Anticipated maturity: 2022-2050
Robert Parker 93
The 2017 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs is the most incipiently complex wine in the cellar this year, unfurling in the glass with aromas of sweet red berries, grilled squab, dark chocolate and spices, as well as a lifted top-note of rose petal. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, with good concentration at the core, a fine-grained but elegantly firm chassis of tannin and a long, mineral finish.
