de Montille Volnay Taillepieds 1er Cru 2015 (750ML)

94-96 WA / 92-95 VM / 92-94 BH

The 2015 Volnay 1er Cru les Taillepieds, 100% whole cluster with around 30% new oak, offers impressive precision and focus on the nose, lively cranberry, wild strawberry and pomegranate scents combine effortlessly with subtle notes of wet slate. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, beautifully balanced with a crescendo of red fruit, mixed with mineral and spice towards the compelling finish. This is an outstanding Taillepieds that will require 4-5 years in bottle, but will repay the patient. Neal Martin – The Wine Advocate

(100% vendange entier; 35% new oak; the soil here is gravel on top of limestone): Good medium red. A bit darker and less floral on the nose than the Mitans and Champans, offering scents of black cherry and dusty brown spices complicated by a menthol note. A bit more angular and tough than the Mitans, showing less easy sweetness but a very concentrated tiny-berry character. Finishes with substantial serious tannins and a subtle note of salty, slatey minerality. This one will be a long-distance runner. Winemaker Brian Sieve noted that there was a lot of skin and stem material for the quantity of juice in these grapes. Stephen Tanzer -Vinous Media

Tasting note: There is just enough wood present to remark upon complementing the more obviously floral-inflected red and dark currant aromas that are at once spicier and a bit more complex. The wood can also be found on the palate as the wonderfully energetic and intensely mineral-driven medium weight flavors possess a taut muscularity that culminate in a youthfully austere, serious and built-to-age finale. Textbook Taillepieds. Allen Meadows - Burghound