The 2014 Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds has a terse, stony nose that is tightly wound at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, slightly rigid tannin that, like the Pitures, needs to develop a little more flesh and corpulence on the finish. It is actually quite Pommard-like in style at this juncture, so we will have to see if it gains more flesh by the time of bottling.

An all but mute and softly wooded nose requires considerable swirling at this early stage to coax the aromas of plum, tea, spice and dried floral notes to reveal themselves. There is outstanding vibrancy to the wonderfully fresh and intensely mineral-driven flavors that possess fine mid-palate concentration where the supporting dry extract does a fine job of buffering the notably firm tannins on the focused and lingering finish. Textbook Taillepieds.