Winemaker Notes
It is the great wine of the Domaine. This wine, firm and elegant at the same time, plays in a league of its own. Its structure is complex and harmonious. Its aromas, very full, give it an exceptional volume and a rare distinction. Wine for laying down, it evolves slowly in the bottle to reach great fullness from 10 years of age. Great vintages often require more time.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs is immensely promising, mingling aromas of cherries and cassis with notions of orange rind, violets, raw cocoa and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's bright and concentrated, built around powdery tannins and tangy acids.
Rating: (94-96) -
Decanter
The Clos des Ducs is the large d’Angerville monopole at the top of the premier crus, nourished by underground springs. There is a little valley that funnels cool air down from the Hautes Côtes that keeps the wines very fresh, an advantage in a warm year. This shows marvellous, bright blackcurrant and mulberry fruit aromas, with plenty of earthy complexity. The tannins are firm, but have a very silky texture and there's lovely length on the finish.
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Jasper Morris
A bright medium deep purple, quite a lot of oak on it, initially a slightly abrasive style as pertaining to a wine which does not want to be too ready too early. Rather reductive in fact. A slight hint of alcohol, but overall an impression of latent power, even some slightly black fruit, without losing all Volnay character.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
On the hillsides between Pommard and Meursault, Volnay is one of two villages in the Côte de Beaune of Burgundy that is recognized for its extraordinary Pinot Noir. Pommard is the other; the rest of the villages are most known for some of the most exceptional Chardonnay in the world. While Volnay Pinot Noir tends to be light in color and more delicate than that of Pommard, they typically stand on par with each other in regards to quality and demand.
Volnay can’t claim any Grands Crus vineyards but more than half of it has achieved Premier Cru status. Volnay Premiers Crus vineyards stretch across the entire village from northeast to southwest, abutting and actually falling “into” Meursault. Where they merge is a vineyard called Les Santenots. Pinot Noir grows in this Meursault Premier Cru but since that village is most associated with stellar whites, the Pinot Noir from Les Santenots, takes the name Volnay Santenots. Immediately above it are Volnay’s other prized Premier Cru, Le Cailleret, Champans, Clos des Chênes and Le Cailleret.
Volnay Pinot Noir are earthy with red or blue fruit. Aromas such as smoke, herbs, forest, cocoa and spice are common and on the palate they are gorgeous and concentrated with finesse but won’t truly charm you without some age.