The 2013 Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Cave des Ducs a monopole with three ages of vine, the oldest almost 80 years old, has a reserved, aloof bouquet that is standoffish at the moment, but it has great transparency. There are some lovely chalky tannins here with sappy red berry fruit, a touch of spice and a grippy saline finish. It feels just a little disjointed at the moment but it will assimilate by the time of bottling as there is plenty of substance here. Excellent.

(this monopole consists of roughly one-third 80-year-old vines, one-third 50+ and one-third a 20-year-old massale selection sourced from Comte Armand's Clos des Epeneaux): Good medium red. Lovely floral lift to the aromas of redcurrant, earth and tobacco. Juicy and energetic, conveying an attractive light tough to the soil-driven flavors of redcurrant, tobacco and dried flowers. Finishes with rather suave, fine-grained tannins and good length.

Very savoury nose and real breadth and depth. Pretty smart and not too bad a price. Long and well fashioned. GV (JR)