The 2018 Volnay Les Champans 1er Cru has an outgoing bouquet similar to the Taillepieds, albeit one with more intellectual weight and gravitas behind it. Black cherries, blueberry and light cassis aromas reveal crushed stone and undergrowth notes, all delivered with intensity and superb delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly firmer, stockier tannins than the Taillepieds, darker fruit and grainier texture toward the persistent finish. I see this has having real long-term potential. Excellent.

Like the Taillpieds, the 2018 Volnay 1er Cru Champans is another of the more muscular, introverted wines in the cellar, exhibiting aromas of raspberries, rose petals, orange rind and dark chocolate, followed by a medium to full-bodied, concentrated and youthfully chewy palate that's amply endowed with ripe tannin and juicy acids. This is a fine Champans in the making, but as is almost invariably the case, it will demand some patience.