1995 Volnay Caillerets

The ruby-colored Volnay Caillerets displays beautifully ripe raspberries and boysenberries, followed by a delicious medium-bodied, soft-textured, luscious, cherry, and Asian spice-filled palate. It is an elegant and well-defined wine that should be at its best between 1998 and 2003. Gerard Potel has produced some of the purest and most elegant Volnay's I have tasted. His '85 Clos De La Bousse D'Or is graceful, sweet, silky, and simply magnificent today. It is one of the few '85s that is putting on body as it evolves. Potel, historically an interventionist winemaker, lectured me on his belief that fining and filtering do no damage to a wine's quality. Yet he also informed me that he was not subjecting his wines to either procedure in 1995 because they were so clear and healthy. As always, ratings with a score in parentheses indicate the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel (212) 355-0700.