John Gilman 2014
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"This has very quickly become one of my favorite domaines in Volnay!"

Wines

2014 Beaune 1er Cru Les Teurons : The 2014 Beaune 1er cru Les Teurons from Domaine Clos de la Chapelle is excellent. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a superb blend of red and black cherries, cocoa, dark soil tones, woodsmoke and a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full­bodied and nicely focused, with a fine, sappy core, lovely soil signature and a long, finely­grained finish. A really lovely example. 2020­2060. 92 points  


2014 Volnay 1er Cru En Carelle : The domaine's vines in En Carelle are planted north­south, which served to shelter the bunches a bit during the hail at the end of June, and there was really quite moderate damage done here in 2014. The wine was raised in twenty percent new oak, and these fifty­five to sixty year­old vines have produced an excellent wine in this vintage. The bouquet offers up scents of cherries, red plums, raw cocoa, gamebird, cedar, and a lovely topnote of spices. On the palate, the wine is fullish, pure and intensely flavored, with a velvety attack, a good core, and a long, suavely­tannic finish. Just a lovely wine. 2021­2060. 92+ points 


2014 Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Chapelle monopole :The domaine's flagship wine was hit a bit harder by the hail on June 28th, so yields are again down very low for this wine in 2014, but the wine was showing well at the time of my visit. The nose wafts from the glass in a fine blend of cherries, red plums, currant leaf, a very good base of soil, a touch of coffee and vanillin oak. On the palate, the wine is pure, full­bodied and more reserved in profile than the En Carelle, with a good core and fine mineral drive on the long and moderately tannic finish. This will need a bit more time to blossom and has ended up a touch chewier than the En Carelle, due to the hail in June­though there are no signs of hail taint, just a bit more structure out of the blocks here. 2023­2065. 92+ points 


2014 Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds : The Taillepieds bottling from Clos de la Chapelle was new in 2013. As readers may recall, this hails from a parcel of forty to fifty year­old vines that lie between the rows of Domaines de Montille and Marquis d'Angerville. The 2014 was another very short crop here, as they only produced three casks, whereas in a normal crop, they should have nine! The wine is superb in 2014, delivering a fine aromatic constellation of red berries, red plums, a beautifully complex base of soil tones, gamebirds, pretty spice notes, and cedary wood. On the palate, the wine is pure, full­bodied, complex, and shows good stuffing at the core, with fine focus and grip and a moderately chewy finish. 2024­2060. 93 points 


2014 Pommard 1er Cru Les Chanlins vieilles vignes : The eighty-five year­old vines here have produced a very pretty and red fruity example of the vintage in 2014. The bouquet jumps from the glass in a classy blend of cherries, quince, a touch of blood orange, pigeon, woodsmoke, and a gentle framing of cedar. On the palate, the wine is deep, full­bodied, complex, and really very suave on the attack (particularly for a young Pommard!), with a fine core of fruit, fine-grained tannins, and a long, focused, and tangy finish. This will be outstanding in the fullness of time! 2022­2060. 94 points 


2014 Pommard 1er Cru Grands Epenots : The 2014 Grands Epenots from Clos de la Chapelle was bottled a bit later than most of the red wines in the cellar, with the mise coming at the start of February of 2016. The wine was showing very well at the time of my visit, offering up a pure and nascently complex nose of red plums, cherries, woodsmoke, gamebird, cocoa, cedar, and a superb base of soil tones. On the palate, the wine is deep, full­bodied, and very elegant in profile, with a superb core of fruit, lovely soil signature, and a very long, ripely tannic and focused finish. A very high class example of this superb terroir. 20124­2065+. 93+ points 


2014 Corton Rognet Grand Cru : The Rognet in 2014 from Clos de la Chapelle was raised in one­third new wood and included fifty percent whole clusters this year. These vines lie just above those of Jean­Nicolas Méo on the slope. The wine really shows the elegant side of the vintage, wafting from the glass in a beautiful aromatic constellation of cherries, red currants, a superb base of minerality, a bit of gamebird, lovely Corton spice tones, and a bit of new wood. On the palate, the wine is pure, full­bodied and nascently complex, with fine transparency, lovely focus and grip, and a very long, ripely tannic and tangy finish. There is a touch of stems here today, but these will become cinnamon­like down the road and just add to the spicy appeal of this lovely Corton. 2025­2075+. 94 points 


2014 Corton Bressandes Grand Cru : The 2014 Bressandes here also included fifty percent whole clusters and was raised in one­third new casks. The wine is dynamite, soaring from the glass in a blaze of red and black cherries, red currants, a touch of venison, coriander seed, a bit of bonfire, raw cocoa, stony soil tones, and cedary wood. On the palate, the wine is deep, full­bodied and nascently complex, with a very sappy core of fruit, lovely transparency, fine­grained tannins, and a very long, tangy, and promising finish. Great juice in the making. 2025­2075. 95 points 


2014 Beaune 1er Cru Reversées : The 2014 Beaune "Reversées" Blanc from Domaine Clos de la Chapelle is a good, solid example of the vintage. The bouquet offers up nice complexity in its mélange of lemon, crab apple, citrus peel, chalky soil tones, and a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate, the wine is deep, fullish and nicely balanced, with crisp acids, fine focus, and good length and grip on the bouncy and wide open finish. A good example for relatively near­term drinking. 2016­2030. 89 points  


2014 Pernand­ Vergelesses 1er Cru Sous Frétille : The 2014 Sous Frétilles from Clos de la Chapelle is excellent and a fine new addition to the portfolio here. The nose jumps from the glass in a pure and quite accessible blend of pear, lemon, white flowers, chalky minerality, and vanillin oak. On the palate, the wine is deep, full­bodied, focused, and juicy at the core, with fine focus and grip and a long, zesty, and quite delicious finish. This is not as structured an example of Sous Frétilles as one finds for example at Domaine Rollin, but it is a very tasty and classy bottle. 2016­2035+. 91 points  


2014 Corton­ Charlemagne Grand Cru : The 2014 Corton­Charlemagne from Clos de la Chapelle is a very fine bottle in the making. The deep and serious nose offers up scents of apple, pear, a touch of iodine, lovely, chalky soil tones, a touch of citrus peel, and vanillin oak. On the palate, the wine is deep, full­bodied, complex and rock solid at the core, with lovely mineral drive, crisp acids, and excellent length and grip on the nascently complex finish. Fine juice in the making. 2020­2045+. 93+ points