The 2012 Volnay Champans stands out for its supple, gracious personality. There is tons of intensity, power and richness in the glass, but the contours are softer and silkier than in some of the other 2012s. Unless it shuts down in bottle, the Champans looks like a wine that will deliver tremendous pleasure throughout its entire life. What a marvelous wine this is.

(90% of the way through its malolactic fermentation): Deep red. A bit disturbed and musky on the nose. Then sweet and creamy in the mouth; lower-pitched than the Taillepieds but with a suave, enveloping texture and smooth tannins. Hard to taste now as it's not perfectly pure, but this is a wonderfully round and rich Volnay in the making.

The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Champans has a generous bouquet of vibrant strawberry and cranberry fruit inter-layered with fine mineralite. The palate is medium-bodied with similar tannins to the Taillepiers, i.e. silky and almost Vosne-like, but here there is a touch more density towards the rounded finish. Drink 2015-2028.

More peppery than the 2011 and a little meaty/savoury. Firm, dry and more tannic than the 2011 but not lean – perhaps a little more austere and 'serious'. Elegant nevertheless.  Refined but still firm. (JH)