2022 Volnay Champans

A restrained and intensely floral-suffused nose is reticent to the point of being brooding and only grudgingly provides glimpses of fresh dark berries and spice whiffs. The precise, highly energetic and super-fine middleweight flavors also exude evident minerality on the moderately austere and equally long finale. I almost always prefer the d'Angerville Taillepieds to their Champans but that could well change in 2022 as this is outstanding.

Tank sample. Bright, medium-dense crimson. Hint of mushrooms on the nose. Lots of substance here. Very glorious fruit on the palate completely distracts from the structure lurking underneath. A substantial, spicy wine that most closely conforms to the Platonic ideal of ‘red burgundy’. Really quite heady! But with a definite framework. Fuller and meatier than the Taille Pieds. And so long! (JR)

The 2022 Volnay 1er Cru Champans offers up aromas of dark berries, licorice, grilled squab, spices and vine smoke, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and layered palate with a sweet core of fruit framed by powdery tannins that assert themselves on the discreetly carnal finish.