An interesting nose brings a slightly musky impression over fine soil, dark fruit and hints of raisin. Very silky tannin and super acidity. Understated overall despite its sweet fruit. This doesn’t particularly make me think to Lavaux today, but it’s lovely all the same.
A medium, medium-plus quite young looking colour. If it wasn’t so sweetly fruity I’d describe the nose as perfumed; it starts as a creamy ’summer pudding’ with undertones of caramel, 2 hours is enough to focus the aromas to a beam of pure red berry – as perfect as a young villages Volnay can be. On your tongue it has A1 balance and a very understated impact. A characterful flavour in the finish that nods to the barrel but without any of the wood tannin texture. I spent most of my time sniffing, but it tastes rather good too. I rather wish I’d bought this in magnums – but hey-ho…
A medium-plus core of ruby-red colour. The nose starts a little dense and unyielding, only slowly and partially opening to give a tense, brooding red cherry impression against fainter savoury elements, perhaps hinting at brett. In the mouth this is silkily textured, still with a grain to the background tannin. The acidity is not perfectly seamless in the mid-palate, but makes your mouth gently water. In the mid-palate there’s a very impressive concentration of clean and tasty fruit that does have a small burst of additional dimension. A good finish. This wine has only very slowly opened in the last couple of years and I would say it needs another couple of years to start drinking well, I’m just a little concerned about that bretty element on the nose. A successful ‘97.
Medium, medium-plus colour. So effusive once the cork is popped, it’s like you’re back in the barrel cellar with forward red and black fruit that is softened at the edges with a sweet, faintly brulee’d note – primary but very gorgeous. In the mouth it has lost some of that barrel ‘padding’, but you have good intensity, equally good acidity and a reasonable amount of structure; the tannin is there and whilst velvety, has the merest trace of astringency. Slowly lingering, this is super – it’s perhaps more structured than when last tasted (and ordered!) and I’d recommend that you leave it in the cellar, but the fruit is gorgeous.
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