The usual blend of Taillepieds and Clos des Chênes, from a parcel that straddles the border of the two climats, Coche's 2022 Volnay 1er Cru offers up aromas of sweet berries, cherries, peonies and vine smoke, followed by a medium to full-bodied, pure and fleshy palate that's bright, lively and precise. Raphaël Coche has turned out another terrific set of wines in 2022, exhibiting superb depth and structure united with a rare sense of ease and effortlessness. As I've written before, the last decade witnessed a stylistic evolution at Domaine Coche-Dury—although this is hardly news, as the changes have been underway for the better part of two decades. In Raphaël's words, the domaine now works with "less new oak, less bâtonnage and less heavy lees." The distinctively toasty, sometimes reductive signature that marked out the Coche-Dury wines of yesteryear is less pronounced. But, as Raphaël emphasizes, that has been the case for some time. "The last vintages marked by pronounced reduction were 1999 and 2007," he observes. "And I didn't initiate the move toward a purer, less stylized approach alone: my father and I agreed on the change of direction together." Some clients, Raphaël says, have complained, but his response is uncompromising. "They may want the vinification [techniques] in the glass, but I want to taste the terroir."(WK)