Provenance

Private Client

Critics Ratings

2007 - ‘A beguiling and seductive nose of earthy, spicy and highly layered red pinot and plum aromas lead to earthy, pure and gorgeously intense medium full-bodied flavors that possess real volume and power yet retain very fine detail and that extra dimension of depth that marks all great wine. This is a most impressive, if presently rather austere, effort and if you can find it, buy it - note however that patience will be required as this will require at least a decade to arrive at its peak.’ - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 93/100 (Apr 2010)

2008 - ‘A fresh and bright nose freely reveals nuances of herbal tea, earth and softly secondary red cherry scents. There is excellent punch and delineation to the sleek and elegantly textured medium-bodied flavors that deliver fine length on the saline, dusty and moderately austere finale. This is one very intense wine with plenty of minerality that once enhances the sense of vibrancy on the wonderfully refreshing finish.’ - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 91/100 (Nov 2019)

2009 - ‘A notably ripe nose combines notes of liqueur-like aromas that derive primarily from the dark side of the fruit spectrum with background nuances of spiced tea, earth and a hint of sandalwood. There is excellent volume and mid-palate richness to the seductively textured larger-scaled flavors that terminate in a very serious, firm and moderately grippy finish. This is an exceptionally powerful wine that is still very much on the way up, indeed it will need most of another decade before it arrives at its apogee.’ - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 92/100 (Nov 2019)

2010 - ‘Exceptionally fresh and complex aromas are comprised of notes of spice, plum, red berry fruit liqueur and plenty of wet stone character that are framed in a discreet hint violet. There is equally fine depth on the focused and sleekly muscular flavors that exude a sense of focused power before culminating in a strikingly long and overtly mineral-inflected finish. While clearly built-to-age this is not quite so backward as many vintages of the Lafarge Clos des Chênes in the sense that it could be enjoyed now. With that said, I would be strongly inclined to allow it at least another 8 to 12 years of cellar time or so first.’ - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 94/100 (Nov 2019)

2011 - ‘A wonderfully fragrant and pure nose combines mostly high-toned red berry fruit elements with those of soft spice, green tea and earth wisps. There is very good concentration in the context of what is typical for the 2011 vintage to the medium weight flavors that exhibit solid minerality and delineation while delivering fine depth and length. This is quite good and while it's clearly still on the way up.’ - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 91/100 (Nov 2019)

2012 - ‘A fresh, ripe and restrained array of red cherries, raspberries and earth enjoy added breath in the form of gentle spice nuances. There is excellent volume and an abundance of minerality to the concentrated and overtly powerful mineral-driven, mid-palate weight plus flavors that deliver outstanding length. Note that there is a slight hint of a bitter finish and that my predicted range assumes it will dissipate with a few years of bottle age.’ - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 90-93/100 (Apr 2014)

2013 - ‘This is notably more expressive at this early stage than it usually is with its wonderfully elegant, pure and layered mélange of various red berries, iron-inflected earth, violet and various spice elements. There is excellent intensity and ample minerality to the intensely saline, firm and lingering finish. We will see how this evolves but this appears to be slightly more pliant than it usually is though note that it will probably still require at least 10 years before it's at its apogee.’ - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 91-93/100 (Apr 2015)

2014 - ‘This is also beautifully well-layered with its broad-ranging nose of red currant, pomegranate, earth, floral and spice-suffused aromas. As is usually the case this is both bigger and more powerful if not quite as elegant with a similar level of mid-palate concentration where the copious dry extract does a reasonably good if not perfect job of buffering the firm tannic spine on the impressively long if slightly edgy finish.’ - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 90/100 (Apr 2017)

2015 - ‘Once again the beautifully well-layered nose is attractively fresh with its combination of essence of red berries, earth, orange-pekoe tea and impressive array of spice elements. The rich, round and imposingly-scaled broad-shouldered flavors display a taut but sleek muscularity and ample minerality that also suffuses the marvelously persistent and intricately well-balanced if notably firm finish. This is, quite simply, flat out sensational and potentially ranks with the best ever vintages of this storied wine.’ - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 93-96/100 (Apr 2017)

2016 - ‘Interestingly this is aromatically similar to the Volnay Caillerets except that it's not as spicy and much earthier. There is excellent size, weight and intensity to the big-bodied and equally mineral-driven flavors that evidence plenty of both muscle and power while delivering superb length on the very firmly structured and youthfully austere finale. This is textbook.’ - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 93-95/100 (Apr 2018)