Opening in the glass with notes of plums, wild berries, dark chocolate and potpourri, the 2018 Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Cave des Ducs is medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with powdery tannins that assert themselves on the back end, lively acids and a long, penetrating finish. While this is deceptively extroverted today, I suspect it will need time.

The 2016 Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Caves des Ducs, which has 50% whole-bunch fruit, has a transparent, red cherry and crushed strawberry bouquet that opens with more confidence than the Les Mitans. The palate has a fine bone structure, quite focused and grainy in the mouth with a keen thread of acidity, quite stern toward the finish but you have to admire the detail here. This has great potential.

The 2015 Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Caves des Ducs has a very pure bouquet: blackberry, raspberry coulis, a touch of wild forest floor and minerals - there is wonderful focus and control here. The palate is very well balanced with crisp acidity, the 50% whole bunch adding a little more edginess compared to the completely de-stemmed Volnay les Mitans, with precision all the way through to the finish. This is a "killer" offering from Benjamin Leroux.

The 2014 Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Caves des Ducs includes one-third whole cluster fruit and has a well defined, detailed bouquet that demonstrates a little more focus than the 2014 Volnay Mitans, perhaps less rustic in style. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, quite dense tannin. This is a masculine Volnay that feels pleasingly saline in the mouth, a touch austere and broody but with a long, spicy tail on the finish. Give it 3-4 years in bottle.

The 2013 Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Cave des Ducs a monopole with three ages of vine, the oldest almost 80 years old, has a reserved, aloof bouquet that is standoffish at the moment, but it has great transparency. There are some lovely chalky tannins here with sappy red berry fruit, a touch of spice and a grippy saline finish. It feels just a little disjointed at the moment but it will assimilate by the time of bottling as there is plenty of substance here. Excellent.