(92-95) This is also brilliantly spicy with its ultra-pure and pretty essence of black raspberry, floral and warm-earth suffused aromas. Like the Champans there is excellent underlying tension supporting the broad-shouldered flavors that are even more mineral-driven on the muscular, taut and driving finish. This wine always ages well and typically needs quite a bit of it and this terrific effort will be no exception. This could well rival the 1999, 2005 and 2010 versions in time.

The 2015 Santenots du Milieu from Comtes Lafon is another absolutely stellar young bottle of Volnay. The bouquet is pure, focused and utterly classic in its mix of black cherries, cassis, dark chocolate, gamebird, a complex base of dark soil tones, woodsmoke, cedar and a pungent topnote of violets. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with great transparency, fine-grained tannins, excellent acids and a very long, complex and perfectly balanced finish. Classic juice that may well rival wines from this vineyard such as the 1978, 1989, 1993 and 1999 here in the fullness of time. (Drink between 2022-2060)

(93+ points) Tasted blind, the 2015 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots-du-Milieu offers up a deep bouquet of red-black cherries, spices, potpourri, espresso roast and subtle grilled meat. Full-bodied, ample and sappy on the palate, it's rich but vibrant, with fine-grained structuring tannins that are beginning to assert themselves on the finish. Having drunk several bottles of this wine since release, the extent to which it's shutting down is clearly apparent, and at this stage, patience will be required.- WK