"The
Superb 2017 Vintage from Volnay's Newest Superstar: Domaine Clos de la Chapelle" - John Gilman, "A View From the Cellar"
Mark
O'Connell has been making outstanding wines here since the debut vintage of
2010 and I have been a fan since those very first releases, but it seems quite
clear to me that the 2017s are the finest wines yet from this young domaine.
There is a precision, transparency and purity to the fruit tones in the 2017s
that is a small, but significant, step up from what has come before at Domaine
Clos de la Chapelle and it seems pretty clear that the 2017 vintage marks the
start of a new and exciting chapter for this outstanding property. With new
cellars in Bligny-lès-Beaune and the adequate space to work easily in the
cellars, these 2017s seem to be a perfect reflection of what Mark seems to
value most in red and white Burgundy and he is starting to really match the
finished wines to his vision for all the beautiful potential that is old vines,
great terroirs and a top flight vintage in the Côte de Beaune. His patience has
been well-rewarded, as the last decade in Volnay in particular, and in much of
the Côte de Beaune has been a challenge worthy of even the patience of Job,
with so many hail-affected vintages and the brutally short, frosted crop of
2016, but finally the stars have aligned in 2017 and we can really see what the
Domaine Clos de la Chapelle is all about. And, it is all good, very, very good!
Vins Rouges
2017 Beaune 1er cru "Champs Pimont"
The 2017 vintage of Champs Pimont
from Domaine Clos de la Chapelle is really a charmer in this vintage, offering
up a beautifully pure, red fruity bouquet of red plums, cherries, a touch of
cocoa powder, a lovely base of soil tones, a hint of fresh herbs and a very
judicious framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied
and more closed down than the nose suggests, with lovely focus and grip, a very
good core of fruit, suave tannins and a long, tangy and complex finish. This is
a really lovely bottle of Beaune premier cru, but it will need some time to
properly blossom and the palate to catch up with the already beguiling
generosity of the nose. 2025-2075. 91+
pts
2017 Beaune 1er cru " Les Teurons"
These sixty-plus year-old vines
in Teurons have turned out a beautiful bottle in 2017. Readers may recall that
this has more limestone in its soils than neighboring Champs Pimont (where
there is more clay) and so the wine is usually shows a bit more high-toned
perfume as a result. The nose on the 2017 is excellent, wafting from the glass
in a complex blend of cherries, red plums, gamebird, a beautiful base of chalky
soil tones, a dollop of fresh thyme, violets, roses and a bit of cedary wood.
On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and beautifully transparent, with
a fine core of fruit, tangy acids, fine-grained tannins and a long, soil-driven
and beautifully complex finish. This is first class Beaune! 2025-2075. 92+ pts
2017 Volnay 1er cru "En Carelle"
As I mentioned in the past, the
domaine's vines in range from these fifty-five to sixty years of age in en
Carelle Sous la Chapelle, and they have produced a lovely wine in the superb
2017 vintage. The bouquet is already quite complex, but still nicely youthful
and reserved at the same time, offering up a constellation of black cherries,
sweet dark berries, a bit of red plum, bitter chocolate, a lovely and quite
complex base of dark soil tones, woodsmoke, pigeon, a hint of mustard seed and
other fresh herb tones and a delicate framing of cedar. On the palate the wine
is deep, full-bodied, soil-driven and very well-balanced, with a fine core of
fruit, moderate, well-measured tannins and a long, tangy and complex finish.
This is very Volnay and will age long and gracefully, but should start to offer
up plenty of generosity starting around its tenth birthday. Impressive!
2027-2080+. 92 pts
2017 Volnay 1er cru "Clos de la
Chapelle" monopole
The Clos de la Chapelle monopole has quickly
become one of Volnay's most elegant bottlings and the 2017 vintage is one of my
absolute favorite vintages so far from Mark's flagship terroir. The nose here
is beautifully complex and transparent right out of the blocks, offering a very
refined blend of plums, red and black cherries, raw cocoa, gamebird, a touch of
fresh nutmeg, beautifully complex and understated fresh herb tones, a gorgeous
base of chalky minerality, gentle smokiness and a discreet framing of cedary
oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, nascently complex and
absolutely defined by its soil element, with a lovely core of fruit, ripe,
seamless tannins, good acids and outstanding length and grip on the youthful
and very, very promising finish. I have adored this bottling since the very
first vintage, but it seems to me that the 2017 has taken the level of
complexity and transparency here up another level, though the wine is
qualitatively still about the same as it has been since its debut vintage of
2010. It is just finer, more transparent and ultimately just a hair more
pleasing to an old Burgundy hand like me this year! This will be approachable
in another six or seven years, due to its exquisite balance, but I would try to
not touch a bottle for at least a decade, as this wine is built a little bit along
the lines of one of Frédéric Lafarge's top Volnays and it is going to be so
much better to drink at age twenty or thirty than it will be at age seven or
eight! 2030-2085+. 94+ pts
2017 Volnay 1er cru "Taillepieds"
The beautiful 2017 Taillepieds is
an absolutely textbook example of this great terroir, as one might expect in a
great vintage and sixty-five-plus year-old vines tucked in between d'Angerville
and de Montille in the heart and soul of the vineyard. The stunning nose soars
from the glass in a nascently complex blend of sweet black cherries and plums,
dark chocolate, fresh nutmeg and other delicate spice tones, dark soil tones,
gamebird, woodsmoke and a bit of vanillin oak. With extended aeration there is
a touch of Bonnes-Mareslike heather tones as well here, which is utterly
gorgeous. On the palate the wine is deep, full, focused and properly
structured, with a beautiful core of fruit, great soil signature, ripe,
wellintegrated tannins and a long, tangy and perfectly balanced finish. Great
juice. 2030-2090. 94+ pts
2017 Pommard 1er cru " Les Chanlins"
vieilles vignes
The domaine's vines here in les
Chanlins are closing in on ninety years of age and they have produced a very
elegant and soil-driven example of Pommard this year- albeit with all of the
depth and structural integrity one expects from the very best wines from this
commune. The bouquet is precise, red fruity and youthful, offering up scents of
cherries, sweet quince, beautifully complex soil tones, raw cocoa, a bit of
bonfire, pigeon, a touch of mustard seed and a very discreet foundation of
cedary oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, transparent and beautifully
generous at the core, with ripe, seamless tannins, excellent focus and grip,
bright acids and a long, complex and very promising finish. All this beautiful
wine needs is some time in the cellar to properly blossom. 2030-2085. 94 pts
2017 Pommard 1er cru "Grands
Epenots"
The 2017
Grands Epenots bottling from Clos de la Chapelle is a bit more youthfully plush
on the attack than the excellent Chanlins this year, but this too is a superb
Pommard that is going to be make very old bones! The bouquet is more black
fruity than the Chanlins, wafting from the glass in a very promising
constellation of black plums, sweet dark berries, woodsmoke, bitter chocolate,
gamebird, a touch of currant leaf, a great base of dark soil tones, gentle
spice tones, a hint of violet and a judicious framing of vanillin oak. On the
palate the wine is fullbodied, focused and shows off both excellent soil
signature and mid-palate depth of fruit, with, ripe, fine-grained tannins,
excellent balance and a long, nascently complex and beautifully focused finish.
Great juice. 2030-2090. 94+ pts
2017 Corton "Bressandes" Grand Cru
The
Bressandes from Domaine Clos de la Chapelle is now the sole red Grand Cru in
the estate's lineup, as Maison Champy has received custody of the Corton
"Rognet" as part of the divorce settlement. However, if the superb 2017 vintage
is any indication, this is a crown that the Bressandes will have no difficulty
wearing in the coming years. The bouquet is very precise and expressive,
offering up a youthful blend of cherries, red currants, a touch of orange zest,
spitroasted gamebird, a beautiful base of soil tones, coriander seed, mustard
seed, woodsmoke, a hint of cocoa powder, other gentle spice tones and a lovely
foundation of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied,
focused and impeccably balanced, with a great core of fruit, Corton's signature
transparency, ripe, buried tannins and a long, tangy and nascently complex
finish. I do so love red Corton when it is made at this high level! 2032-2100. 95+ pts
Vins Blancs
2017 Beaune 1er cru "Reversées"
Blanc
The 2017
Beaune "Reversées" Blanc from Clos de la Chapelle is a beautifully precise and
esthery example of the vintage, offering up the kind of early appeal that are
going to make legions of fans for this wine right from release, but with the
structure to also age very nicely. The bouquet is totally enticing, wafting
from the glass in a lovely blend of pear, apple, bee pollen, gently musky
spring flowers, chalky soil tones and a discreet base of vanillin oak. On the
palate the wine is crisp and full-bodied, with fine focus and grip, an
excellent core, good soil signature and lovely, bouncy acids that lend lift and
brightness, without standing in the way of early complexity and enjoyment. A
lovely example of the vintage. 2019-2040. 90+
pts
2017 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er cru
"Sous Frétille"
The
fine Sous Frétille vineyard is one of the ultimate "insider terroirs" in the
realm of white Burgundy, as this very well-situated vineyard lies at the base
of the hill of Corton and is often referred to as the "Baby
Corton-Charlemagne". The 2017 Sous Frétille from Clos de la Chapelle is a very
fine expression of this lovely terroir, offering up a complex bouquet of
delicious apple, pear, a touch of crème patissière, beautiful, chalky soil
tones, a judicious framing of vanillin oak and a topnote of lemon blossoms. On
the palate the wine is crisp, complex and full-bodied, with a lovely core,
excellent mineral drive, bright acids and a long, youthful and very promising
finish. This gently reductive in a very good way that augurs well for its
future development. First class white Burgundy! 2019-2050. 92 pts
2017 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
The 2017 Corton-Charlemagne from
Domaine Clos de la Chapelle is an excellent wine and a classic example of this
great grand cru. The youthfully complex nose wafts from the glass in a refined
blend of apple, pear, a touch of iodine, limestone minerality, white flowers, a
hint of fresh almond and a lovely foundation of vanillin oak. On the palate the
wine is deep, full-bodied and nascently complex, with an excellent core of fruit,
lovely backend mineral drive, bright, zesty acids and outstanding focus and
balance on the long and utterly classic finish. This is not an overly muscular
example of Corton-Charlemagne, but rather a wine of excellent depth and
intensity of flavor that will deliver a very complex and elegant interpretation
of this great terroir in the fullness of time. A quintessential example of
Pernand-side Corton Charlie! 2022-2060. 95
pts
