The 1999 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs has always been an impressive wine, although here I did not think it quite achieved the level of the bottle poured at the vertical back in September 2010. Noticeably deep in colour, it maintains that sense of opulence on the nose with pastille-like purity: raspberry and wild strawberry, then blackcurrant following later. The palate has very good density and balance, more structure and more sinew than the 2002 Clos des Ducs but not quite the same degree of finesse. This is a little burlier (like many '99s at the moment.) You could approach this now, though I would prefer to leave it another two or three years.