Tasting Notes
Antonio Galloni 91-94
Not surprisingly, the 2013 Volnay Clos des Ducs is the most tannic and reticent of these wines. I very much like the sense of energy here, but it’s going to take at least a few years for the contours to soften. The 2013 will always show the signatures of the late harvest and cold year, so, like all these wines, it will appeal most to readers with classically leaning palates.
Anticipated maturity: 2018-2035
Vinous 94
Healthy dark red. Highly complex but youthfully restrained nose offers scents of black fruits, violet, chocolate, menthol and minerals, along with some faintly liqueur-like high tones. Boasts outstanding density of texture, not to mention great lift and power for this bottling, with almost exotic fruit ripeness leavened by strong acidity. Finishes with spectacular lingering perfume of violet, bitter chocolate, wild herbs and mint. An amazingly strong, bulletproof Volnay for the year–or for any vintage, for that matter.
Anticipated maturity: 2023-2035
Wine Advocate 92-94
The 2013 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs has that citrus-like freshness; that Seville orange marmalade trait that was tangible in a range of mature Clos des Ducs tasted the previous week. There are touches of violet that emerge with continued aeration. The palate is very feminine and refined, laid back almost, but that distracts from the structure underneath and the persistence and minerality on the finish. This is a regal, perhaps one should say, “ducal,” Clos des Ducs that should drink beautifully over the next 25-30 years. But as I discovered at the vertical, this vineyard needs several years in the cellar. This year I spent a little more time at Marquis d’Angerville. Having participated in an epochal vertical of Guillaume d’Angerville’s Clos des Ducs monopole in London the week before, I made sure to spend time walking around the vineyard. It is amazing what 20 minutes of promenading around the vines can do for your perspective and insight (readers can read the results in a separate article in this issue.)
Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040
