2018 Michel Lafarge Volnay Clos Ch des Ducs

Picked by horse and hand on the 1st September. Medium deep colour and some weight of fruit, fractionally less harmony than Clos des Chenes and a little blacker in fruit. The intensity is hugely impressive though. Sultry and gorgeous throughout, with a few drier tannins behind which the fruit soon covers. There is plenty more in reserve here. 92-95 points

The 2018 Volnay Clos du Chateau des Ducs 1er Cru was de-stalked by hand, a practice incepted with the 2016 vintage. It demands more coaxing from the glass, but reveals wonderful violet-infused red currant, cranberry and wild cherry aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy ripe tannins and great depth but gentle grip. This is your quintessential iron fist in a velvet glove. Wonderful spiciness lingers for more than 60 seconds on the finish. Stunning. 95-97 points

The 2018 Clos du Chateau des Ducs from Domaine Michel Lafarge is also flat out brilliant this year. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a youthfully complex blend of cherries, red plums, plenty of smokiness, raw cocoa, pigeon, a hint of nutskin, gorgeous soil tones and a deft framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very soil-driven in personality, with marvelous depth in the mid-palate, suave tannins and a long, tangy and very elegant finish. Equally stunning! Drink 2032-2075. 95 points

It will be very interesting to compare the 2018 Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Chateau des Ducs with the Clos des Chênes 20 years from now. Though the latter has long been the domaine`s emblematic bottling, for several years the Lafarge family has taken to presenting Clos du Chateau des Ducs at the end of the tasting, and it`s priced slightly higher too. Destemmed entirely by hand, the wine reveals a generous bouquet of sweet berries, licorice, rich soil tones, black truffles and spice, followed by a medium to full-bodied palate that`s more expressive and enveloping, its textural att ack segueing into a deep core, concluding with a long and precise finish. 94-96+ points

Pure, ripe, fragrant red fruit. Sweet cherry and lightly floral. Lots of underlying power here, deep and rich, and yet it seems so welcoming. Smooth, compact, fresh and perfectly balanced between the fruit and the framework, very very long. 18 points