1995 Volnay Clos des Ducs

The monopole (solely owned) Volnay Clos du Chateau des Ducs possesses a ruby color with aromas of tangy black currants. The elegant, medium-to-full-bodied character of this silky wine has copious quantities of cherries, blackberries and earth tones. Gorgeously long and well-delineated, it is a quintessential example of how Volnays can be both powerful and elegant. Drink it between 1999 and 2006. It is only appropriate that a producer who crafts the top generic bottlings in Burgundy should also be responsible for some of its finest village wines.||As always, ratings with a score in parentheses indicate the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle.||A Becky Wasserman Selection, French Fax # 011-33-3-80-24-29-70, various American importers, including Esquin Imports, San Francisco, CA; tel (415) 398-1200, Martin-Scott, Lake Success, NY; tel (516) 327-0808. Wine Advocate.August, 1997

Good medium red. Complex, vinous aromas of redcurrants and spice. Lush and sweet, but lively and sharply delineated. At first, this really blossomed in the mouth, but then began to close down in the glass, showing a very firm structure. The tannins are tougher than those of the '96, but even. This should reward six or seven years of bottle aging.