Top Pommard and Volnay 2023 wines en primeur
Growers were challenged by high yields and high potential alcohol in Pommard and Volnay, respectively, in 2023. Charles Curtis MW reports, selecting his 20 top-scoring wines to buy.
Top producers in 2023:
- Domaine de Courcel
- Domaine de la Commaraine
- Domaine Marquis d’Angerville
- Domaine Michel Lafarge
- Domaine Pierrick Bouley
Scroll down for Curtis’ 20 top-scoring Pommard and Volnay 2023 wines
The situation in the red wine-producing regions of the Côte de Beaune was different from that of the Côte de Nuits.
In Pommard, Château de Pommard noted higher yields than the norm, averaging 49hl/ha. The year delivered large bunches and big grapes, filling the tanks and preventing the domaine from doing as much whole-cluster fermentation as they would have liked.
Guillaume d’Angerville, of Domaine Marquis d’Angerville in Volnay, notes the up-and-down nature of 2023, but he says that despite the heatwave and pH levels as high as 3.7 after malolactic conversion, one can still see the character of each climat.
The individual nature of each site is often less distinct in a hot vintage, but it was gratifying here and elsewhere to see the differences so clearly in 2023.
D’Angerville’s winemaker François Duvivier says: ‘One might think it would be an early-maturing vintage, but you never know; the wines from 2009 still appear very youthful today.’
Despite the generosity of the year, rising star Pierrick Bouley in Volnay says yields were moderate, ‘38hl/ha compared to 30hl/ha normally. Since we stopped trimming the shoots, the bunches are much smaller, 50-80 grams each, while it used to be 120-150 grams,’ he says.
He waited for the fruit to ripen and picked between 11-23 September, producing delicious results.
COMING SOON
Score table listing Charles Curtis MW’s top Burgundy 2023 wines all scoring 94 points or above
Further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:
Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Chambolle-Musigny | Gevrey-Chambertin | Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges | Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet | Best value
Top-scoring Pommard and Volnay 2023 wines:
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Domaine de Courcel, Pommard, 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots, Burgundy, France, 2023
Tasted out of barrel, the Grand Clos des Epenots 2023 is surpassingly delicious and almost shockingly approachable. Fruit aromas range from fragrant wild strawberries to...
2023
Domaine de CourcelPommard
Domaine Marquis d'Angerville, Volnay, 1er Cru Clos des Ducs, Burgundy, France, 2023
Elegant and aristocratic, the Clos des Ducs from d'Angerville is a bit restrained initially but opens up with pomegranate and blackberry fruit aromas and flavours...
2023
Domaine Marquis d'AngervilleVolnay
Domaine Michel Lafarge, Volnay, Clos des Chênes 1er Cru, Burgundy, France, 2023
Lafarge's Clos des Chênes 2023 is a superb wine. The initial attack boasts ripe plum and blackberry fruit with floral notes and a savoury edge,...
2023
Domaine Michel LafargeVolnay
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay, 1er Cru Santenots-du-Milieu, Burgundy, France, 2023
Lafon's Santenots is a reference for the appellation in each vintage; 2023 is no exception. It offers a ripe, forward blackberry and blueberry fruit character...
2023
Domaine des Comtes LafonVolnay
Domaine Marquis d'Angerville, Volnay, 1er Cru Les Caillerets, Burgundy, France, 2023
Lovely, supple and elegant, the Caillerets from d'Angerville seems much more approachable than usual, with rich, plummy fruit and hints of earthy minerality and rose...
2023
Domaine Marquis d'AngervilleVolnay
Domaine Michel Lafarge, Volnay, 1er Cru Les Caillerets, Burgundy, France, 2023
The Lafarge Caillerets is a standout, with intense aromas of black plum and nuances of earth and mineral on the attack. It has superb depth...
2023
Domaine Michel LafargeVolnay
Domaine Marquis d'Angerville, Volnay, 1er Cru En Champans, Burgundy, France, 2023
The 2023 Champans is one of my favourite wines from this cellar, as it is in many vintages. It offers lush, forward black- and blue-fruit...
2023
Domaine Marquis d'AngervilleVolnay
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay, 1er Cru Clos des Chênes, Burgundy, France, 2023
Lafon farms just over 0.3ha n the Clos des Chênes. Pierre Lafon says that the vineyard ripens early and quickly, and it is essential to...
2023
Domaine des Comtes LafonVolnay
Domaine Pierrick Bouley, Volnay, 1er Cru Clos des Chênes, Burgundy, France, 2023
This is the best wine in this cellar, even better than the Santenots. It is not as voluptuous as the Champans (also a top selection),...
2023
Domaine Pierrick BouleyVolnay
Domaine Michel Lafarge, Volnay, 1er Cru Clos du Château des Ducs, Burgundy, France, 2023
The 2023 Clos du Château des Ducs is a high point of the tasting in this cellar. It has profuse aromas of blueberry and blackberry,...
2023
Domaine Michel LafargeVolnay
Benjamin Leroux, Volnay, 1er Cru Santenots, Burgundy, France, 2023
The Santenots stands out in this cellar, with a subtle curranty fruit and hints of bramble and flowers that give lovely depth to the aroma....
2023
Benjamin LerouxVolnay
Domaine de Courcel, Pommard, 1er Cru Rugiens, Burgundy, France, 2023
The 2023 Rugiens from Domaine de Courcel was slightly closed when tasted out of barrel, but it begins to open up on the palate with...
2023
Domaine de CourcelPommard
Domaine de Courcel, Pommard, 1er Cru Fremiers, Burgundy, France, 2023
Despite the proximity to the domaine-owned vines in Croix Noires just to the north, this is entirely different, with a lovely ripe plum and spice...
2023
Domaine de CourcelPommard
Domaine de la Commaraine, Pommard, 1er Cru Clos de la Commaraine, Burgundy, France, 2023
The 2023 Clos de la Commaraine aromas are deep and rich, with notes of plum and blackberry, hints of earth and leather and a light...
2023
Domaine de la CommarainePommard
Domaine de Montille, Pommard, 1er Cru Rugiens-Bas, Burgundy, France, 2023
The 2023 Rugiens-Bas is a newly reinvigorated wine, with a marvellous concentration of mulberry and pomegranate fruit with hints of liquorice, pepper, lavender and earth....
2023
Domaine de MontillePommard
Domaine de Montille, Pommard, 1er Cru Pézerolles, Burgundy, France, 2023
Fragrant and spicy, the forward plummy fruit aromas of de Montille's Pommard Pézerolles are invitingly moreish. The texture is softer and less angular than Taillepieds;...
2023
Domaine de MontillePommard
Benjamin Leroux, Pommard, 1er Cru Rugiens, Burgundy, France, 2023
The 2023 Pommard Rugiens from Benjamin Leroux is a powerful, sinuous wine with a compact aroma of dark plum and blackberry fruit with earth and...
2023
Benjamin LerouxPommard
Domaine de Courcel, Pommard, 1er Cru Croix Noires, Burgundy, France, 2023
With its aromas of black cherry and savoury earth notes, the Croix Noires from Domaine de Courcel is a classic Pommard. General manager Yves Confuron...
2023
Domaine de CourcelPommard
Philippe Pacalet, Les Rugiens, Pommard, Burgundy, France, 2023
The village-level Rugiens has produced a seductive wine with a lovely cherry fruit and notes of lavender, liquorice and tea. The texture is firmly tannic,...
2023
Philippe PacaletPommard