2022 Volnay, Clos de la Cave des Ducs, 1er Cru, Benjamin Leroux, Burgundy

The 2022 Volnay Clos de la Cave des Ducs 1er Cru has a more expressive bouquet than the Les Mitans: vivid red cherry and crushed strawberry aromas, lively and energetic. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly peppery entry, so you would assume there were more than 10-15% stems. Slightly vegetal and quite penetrating with a persistent finish, it’s not a crowd-pleaser, but I find this cerebral.Leroux poured not his entire range of 50-odd cuvées…but most of them. “We started picking on August 26, and everything came in by September 5,” he tells me at his winery in Beaune, adjacent to the sprawling Albert Bichot buildings. “It was a pretty easy season after 2021, and we didn’t have stress in the vines compared to 2018 or 2019. There was just a bit in the lower parts of Savigny-lès-Beaune. Almost no sorting, chaptalization, acidification, or stuck fermentation was necessary. We use a pied de cuve from our vineyard to ensure all Saccharomyces. There is occasionally a lack of nitrogen in the vine, but you can correct that. We made four times as much wine for the whites: 40hL/ha instead of 10hL/ha in 2021. Now we are seeing big disparities in alcohol levels between vineyards.” Drink 2026 - 2038Neil Martin, Vinous.com.com (January 2024)

A fine mid purple, this is beautifully floral, an ethereal Volnay without massive body. Gains more weight on the second half of the palate, finishes well in a more sensual style. 14% explains the floral and sensual notes.Drink 2027 - 2035Jasper Morris MW, insideburgundy_com (December 2023)