2016 Marquis d’Angerville Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er Cru (Pre-arrival)

Bright, deep red. Deeper-pitched on the nose than the young 2017, offering aromas of cherry, blueberry, menthol and licorice and an impression of medicinal reserve. A juicy, spicy, impeccably balanced midweight with outstanding clarity and cut and an enticing touch of sweetness leavened by spiciness. Plenty of tannin/acid spine here to frame and carry the fruit through a long, rising, floral finish. This tightly wound beauty shows the sappy quality of the vintage’s better examples and should be long-lived. It would be a shame not to give it at least four or five more years of cellaring, if not eight or ten. (13.05% alcohol; September 25 harvest; 45 h/h; 3.39 pH; from what Guillaume d’Angerville described as “a good crop,” as this vintage escaped the frost, whose effects, he said, did not extend higher than 260 meters: Clos des Ducs is 300 to 325 meters above sea level, with very good air flow to dissipate frost)