2017 Volnay Les Taillepieds 1er Cru

Tank sample of final blend. Mid garnet – deeper in colour than the Caillerets. A bit reticent at the moment but good subtlety. Sinewy and muscular. An undertow of dark fruit – blackberries? Fine and ambitious but definitely for the long term. Lots of acidity but sufficient fruit too. (JR)

The 2017 Volnay Les Taillepieds 1er Cru has perhaps the most "airy" bouquet, it is very transparent at the moment, but the palate is much tighter and backward. There is good backbone here, but it is sulking and it is probably one of the Domaine’s wines that will require the longest bottle age. It has an almost Pommard-like austerity towards the finish. Excellent but one of the more challenging wines from the domaine.

The 2017 Volnay 1er Cru Les Taillepieds exhibits brooding aromas of plums, cherries, dark chocolate, grilled meat and pungent soil tones, making for one of wilder bouquets in the cellar this year. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, deep and chewy, with broad structural shoulders that are more typical of Taillepieds than they are of the 2017 vintage, defined by tangy acids and fine-grained but rich tannins. This may well be the wine that demands the greatest patience this year.