The 2010 Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er Cru is just a joy from start to finish. It has an alluring, open and crystalline bouquet that blossoms in the glass, vivacious red fruit, touches of damp undergrowth and spellbinding mineralité . Touches of shucked oyster shells develop with time. The palate is beautifully balanced with more depth on the mid-palate than either the Champans and Taillepieds 2010 tasted alongside. It possesses the backbone you expect from a Clos des Ducs with a touch of sour cherry lending race on the sustained finish. Wonderful. Tasted at the Marquis d'Angerville tasting in London.

Good medium red. Captivating aromas of black cherry, dark raspberry, minerals and flowers have shed the reductive character that made this wine difficult to taste shortly after the bottling. Juicy, penetrating and wonderfully elegant, delivering outstanding flavor intensity without any impression of heaviness. Red berry, red cherry and flowers dominate the middle palate, with an element of saline minerality expanding with air. Really stains the palate and titillates the salivary glands on the very long, rising finish. This wine is so well-balanced that it's delicious right now, but it has the solidity, sappiness and tannic structure for a slow and graceful evolution in the cellar. A transcendent premier cru. (14.1% alcohol; September 23 harvest; 3.5 pH; a major attack of oidium in Clos des Ducs in August resulted in a crop level of just 19 hectoliters per hectare, according to Angerville, who noted that the younger vines in the upper part of the vineyard were particularly affected)

The 2010 Volnay Clos des Ducs is a wonderfully complete wine. Layers of sculpted, chiseled fruit flow gracefully as the Clos des Ducs opens up in the glass. Dark red cherries, licorice, spices and cedar are given an attractive lift by the expressive floral notes that are woven throughout. This is a beautifully centered, poised wine that impresses for its purity and focus. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040. The 2010s from Marquis d’Angerville are stellar. They are the product of a year that saw yields lowered by 40-50% on average. It was quite a shock to see the domain’s cellars with so few barrels in them. As always, the wines were made with fully de-stemmed fruit. I will report on the 2009s in the April issue. Importer: Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, Napa CA; tel. (707) 299-2600

Harvested 23-27 September: Heavy reduction on the nose makes this difficult to appreciate at first, but as the reduction blows off it is easier to savor the beautiful red and black fruit underneath. The 2010 is a very structured Ducs. I don’t expect it to drink early, but it should be a great bottle by 2025.

Monopole. Red cherries and spice on the nose with a certain gaminess and real spine. Still very firm structure within which the fruit has evolved considerably. I think I prefer the Champans 2020! (JR)