2012 Volnay Clos de la Cave des Ducs

How lovely is Pinot Noir? The aroma doesn't get much better than this: aromatic red fruit, verging on floral and a hint of stemmy freshness. Delicate but pervasive. On the palate, too, there's a gentleness and purity that still allows for notable persistence. Fragrant, so finely structured you almost miss the tannins. Great length. (JH)

A model of refinement and pure class the 2012 Volnay Clos de La Cave des Ducs flows across the palate with silky fruit and impeccable overall balance. Cinnamon, pine and wild flowers all add complexity to the dark red stone fruit. Here it is the wine's freshness that stands out, especially on the finish.

The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Caves des Ducs has a deeper color than the Mitans, while the bouquet shows a little more oak on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with good structure, firm in the mouth with broody dark berry and raspberry fruit and a tannic, grippy finish. It should mellow out nicely by the time of bottling and deserves three of four years in bottle. There is one vigneron pleased about the late running of the 2013 harvest more than any other – Benjamin Leroux. “I had my third baby two weeks ago,” he reveals, though he looks in unnaturally fine fettle given the sleepless nights he must surely be enduring. I met Benjamin at his winery located just off the Beaune ring road opposite Albert Bichot and Domaine des Croix. Here he vinifies all his negociant wines that are labeled under his name, and when he is not there, you will probably find him down in Domaine Comte Armand, where he has been responsible for recent vintages. He shares the facility with Nicolas Rossignol, whose wines I tasted directly afterwards. Those wishing to glean more information on Leroux’s background should peruse the article I wrote in the August issue of The Wine Advocate concerning Clos des Epeneaux. He told me that he will bottle his 2012s relatively early this year and, in fact, several were already under cork. Like practically everyone, his crops are depleted in 2012 depending upon the area, up to 80% in the worst affected by frost and hail. The samples that I tasted were either in bottle (wines with single figure scores) or in barrel just after malo-lactic but before racking (given by banded scores). Generally, these constituted an outstanding set of wines, albeit often in miniscule quantities, which is why some of the cuvees are exclusive to certain markets (for example, you will have to go to Hong Kong to find his elusive Clos Saint Denis.) While the grand crus could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with many growers, readers should check out some of his over-performing Village and Premier Crus, particularly the former that were bolstered by the blending of the latter due to depletion of crop. Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (Le Serbet) and through various US importers (see www.leserbet.com for full list.)