2005 Volnay Clos des Chenes
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Tasting notes
Bright ruby-red. Complex nose combines dark raspberry, spices, leather and menthol. Juicy but less supple than the village wine; more imploded today but boasts terrific energy and life for a wine with such sweetness. Very different in style from the fleshy, lower-pitched village wine. But this is plenty tactile and has superb fruit. Finishes with brisk acidity and excellent juicy length. I love the sappiness on display here, but this will need time in bottle.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Blossomy, very expressive nose – much lighter and more delicate than Lafarge’s example. Bright fruit, extremely fresh and appetising. So delicate you could take this for a village wine at this stage if you weren’t concentrating. (JR)
The 2005 Volnay Clos des Chenes was bottled the day I visited, however I tasted the pre-bottled assemblage. Black cherry and red currant fruit are tinged with ginger and coffee grounds. This exhibits a vintage-typical clarity, sap and freshness yet also a flattering creaminess of texture. Cool, fresh fruit character, subtle suggestions of fungus and flowers, and faintly sizzling spiciness inform a long, refined, and refreshing yet soothing finish. Lafon says he went easy on extraction this year precisely to showcase the sort of vividly fresh fruit that is on exhibit here. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet (various importers), fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70; A Daniel Johnnes Selection imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY, tel. (516) 677 9300; Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA, tel. (781) 352 1100; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA, tel. (510) 559 1040
Good red-ruby. Lovely blackberry perfume on the nose. Dense and vibrant, with juicy blackberry, licorice and bitter chocolate flavors accented by a positive herbal element. Very sappy wine, with the acids carrying the sweet fruit. There's fat here but also a light touch. The tannins show noteworthy finesse. Refined and long.