The 2015 Volnay 1er Cru Frémiets is lovely, wafting from the glass with notes of red plum, raspberry, spice and forest floor. On the palate, the wine is elegant, fine-grained and silky, only medium to full-bodied, its acids sappy and its finish long and intense, but far from the tannic powerhouse one might have anticipated. A beautiful Frémiets.

Notes of red and black cherry, herbs, woodsmoke and Pommard-like spice introduce a palate with a nicely gourmand attack, underpinned by a surprisingly assertive chassis of tannins. Like the Auxey premier cru, this wine is a bit more strongly marked by new oak than one might wish, though if any vintage can handle it, it's 2015. (WK)

(bottled in March of 2017; 30% new oak): Medium red Deep aromas of black raspberry, black cherry and spicy oak. A step up in sweetness from the Volnay villages and Auxey-Duresses wines, offering lovely ripeness and fat to its the purple fruit, smoke and chocolate flavors. This very rich, deep wine saturates the palate and spreads out horizontally on the back end, where the big tannins are nicely supported by the wine material. A serious wine with the stuffing to age well. (ST) 91+