Wine Ratings

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The 300-metre rows in the domaine’s 4ha of Champans run from the top to the bottom of the slope, taking in both brown and red soils. The result is a very complete, self-assured expression of the premier cru, showing the focus and delicacy of a classic Volnay. Silly, sweet and shimmering on the palate, it has very good depth and the concentration to ageDecanter Magazine | 96 DECThe 2017 Volnay Les Champans 1er Cru is tasted from two barrels. It demonstrates wonderful grace and precision with mineral-infused cranberry and wild strawberry fruit. There is a sense of vitality and sophistication here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin. The oak is beautifully integrated, notes of orange rind and even just a subtle touch of honey towards the relatively powerful and sustained finish that just feels audacious. Wonderful.Vinous Media | 92 VMA polished style, with dark fruit flavors of black currant and blueberry, marked by solid tannins. Supple and fruity midpalate, tightening up on the long, earth- and mineral-tinged finish. Best from 2022 through 2035.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe 2017 Volnay 1er Cru Les Champans was showing especially well, bursting with expressive aromas of rose petal, ripe wild berries, blood orange rind and dark chocolate. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, rich and textural, with a layered core of concentrated fruit, fine structuring tannins and a long finish. The suppleness of the vintage has tempered Champans’ tendency to structural muscularity but not its fleshy fruit, making for a delightful gourmand wine.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPOnce again there is a highly appealing freshness to the essence of red cherry, raspberry and floral elements, the latter of which is reflected by the sleek and relatively refined medium-bodied flavors that possess excellent punch on the beautifully persistent though markedly structured finish. This isn’t as refined as the Caillerets but there is slightly better mid-palate density.Burghound | 91-94 BH

This excellent grand cru bottling was wiped out by frost in 2016, but is back with a flourish in 2017. Sourced from a single 100-year-old parcel in Les Cruots, it sees 100% new wood but isn’t particularly oaky. With 30% whole bunches adding some extra sap, this is sweet, stylish and textured, with an undertone of ginger spice and engaging fruit sweetness.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECThe 2017 Echézeaux from Domaine Georges Noëllat is another excellent wine in the making. The wine offers up a fine aromatic constellation of black cherries, black plums, a fine base of dark soil tones, venison, woodsmoke and spicy oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and beautifully sappy at the core, with suave tannins, excellent focus and grip and a very long, velvety and classy finish. This was pretty badly frosted in 2016 and perhaps is a bit easy-going structurally this year, due to last year’s frosts. But, it may well be that there is a more serious structural chassis here currently buried under the gorgeous fruit and it may firm up a bit more when Maxime racks the wine. If this is the case, then my score will prove to be conservative. (Drink between 2027 - 2075)John Gilman | 94 JGCheurlin’s 2017 Echezeaux Grand Cru is showing beautifully from bottle, bursting with aromas of cherries, cassis, rose petals, spices and orange rind, deftly framed by classy new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, broad and succulent, built around powdery tannins and a fragrant core of ripe but lively fruit.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2017 Echézeaux Grand Cru contains between 15 and 20% whole bunches, matured entirely in new oak. It has quite a complex bouquet of blackberry, raspberry confit, tobacco and crushed stone scents, all nicely focused. The palate is medium-bodied, offering sappy black fruit with veins of blue, gentle grip and a sensual, lascivious finish. Give this five to eight years in bottle if you can.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMFrom very old vines in Les Cruots. Maxim has included a few whole bunches(15%) to freshen the wine up with a deliberate little touch of youthful astringency. The deep purple colour is an immediate indicator of the wine’s intensity This is a wine of huge substance if not immediately obviously Echezeaux. Plenty of barrel which it will manage. The whole bunch was needed here I think. Tasted Nov 2018.Jasper Morris | 91-95 JMHere too a deft touch of wood sets off the spicier and more complex aromas that combine plum, black and blue fruit with a broad range of floral elements. The bigger, richer and more concentrated if less evident mineral-driven medium-bodied flavors culminate in a youthfully austere, long and bitter cherry pit-infused finish. This seductive effort should be approachable on the younger side but reward extended keeping.Burghound | 90-93 BH

Deeper ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir De Villiers Vineyard reveals more black raspberry, sassafras, tea, and spicy notes. It’s medium-bodied, with a juicy, elegant style and a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDA juicy and powerful red with blackberries, dried strawberries, walnuts and spice undertone. Full-bodied and chewy with layers of tannins and a flavorful finish. Hints of bark and spice. Needs time to soften, but impressive. Drink after 2025, but already beautiful.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2017 Pinot Noir de Villiers Vineyard is fabulous. Rich, exotic and bold, the 2017 offers striking immediacy. Inky dark fruit, spice, lavender and menthol open up first, followed by a range of more savory, mineral notes that are typical of Mt. Harlan. The interplay of fruit intensity and structure makes for a compelling Pinot.Vinous Media | 94 VMPale to medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Pinot Noir deVilliers Vineyard, aged 17 months in 30% new French oak, gives up broody cherry coulis, underbrush, crushed stone, dried redcurrants and cranberries aromas with notions of blood orange, tea leaves and cured meats. Medium-bodied, intense and layered, it’s well framed and juicy with a long and pleasantly restrained finish. 1,382 cases produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPDe Villiers is an east-facing site more or less in the middle of Calera’s Mt. Harlan vineyards, planted in 1997. In 2017, it produced a wine considerably more savory than most of its counterparts, with a wild berry scent and tealike accents. The fruit flavors are light and attenuated, more about perfume than flavor, marked by the tangy, mildly mineral grip of the mountain’s chalk soils.Wine & Spirits Magazine | 93 W&SWell-sculpted, with alluring sandalwood and allspice notes to the dried cherry and plum tart flavors. Savory richness emerges midpalate, leading to an extended finish that offers brioche and cream details. Drink now through 2024. 1,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSRoasted boysenberry, crushed stone, baked earth and a slight plum-skin tang show on the nose of this bottling from vines planted in 1996. There’s a warm-weather sense on the palate, where cooked berry flavors dominate, yet the acid and rocky tension keep it complex and intenseWine Enthusiast | 92 WE