2012 Volnay Caillerets

The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets has a slightly more subdued bouquet compared to the Fremiets. There is a palpable earthiness to the nose: freshly tilled soil and spring meadow. It unfurls with aeration in the glass with faint scents of wild mint and potpourri. The palate is medium-bodied, the fruit profile moving toward red rather than the Fremiet’s black. As such, it has a femininity and playfulness about it, a pretty Caillerets that feels just a little attenuated towards the finish, but remains fresh and lively, and graces the drinker with a pleasant saline aftertaste. Drink 2015-2025.

(just three barrels produced, representing a yield of 14 hectoliters per hectare, which regisseur Francois Duvivier described as high for 2012 here): Good dark red. Slightly roasted but vibrant redcurrant, tobacco and earth on the musky nose. Sweet, creamy red fruit and spice flavors are enlivened by a pungent mineral character. Finishes with solid tannins for a young Caillerets. Plenty of solid matter here.

D'Angerville's 2012 Volnay Caillerets bristles with energy and pure tension. The flavors are bright, high-toned and marvelously focused throughout. Here, too, it is the wine's extraordinary purity and transparency that impress most of all. Readers who can find the Caillerets are in for a real treat. The Caillerets was racked a bit later than the other wines in the cellar, but it nevertheless shows beautifully. Beginning in 2013, the domaine has added to their holdings in Caillerets, so in theory production will be going up, as long as Mother Nature cooperates.