The 2015 Volnay 1er Cru les Taillepieds has a slightly deeper color than the Les Pitures, more Volnaysian in comparison perhaps. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, well-judged acidity with plenty of cranberry and raspberry fruit, leading to a refreshingly structured finish that has just the right amount of salinity. There is astute winemaking on display here and it could well turn out to be the domaine's finest offering in the 2015 vintage.

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.

The 2013 Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds, that was reduced by half because of flowering and hail, has more fruit concentration on the nose than the Mitans '13 at the moment and, more importantly, they are more in sync, more focused. The palate is well balanced with plenty of energy, vibrant red berry fruit accompanied by a welcome salinity on the finish. Drink this over the next 5-7 years.

Despite there being no new wood used in 2013 this displays a touch of oak anyway though it's sufficiently subtle that it doesn't impair the appreciation of the very fresh, spicy and cool aromas of violet, plum and dark currant. This is even more intense than the Pitures with its even more mineral-driven medium weight flavors that also display enough asperity to notice but the phenolic maturity is higher here even if the balance is still not ideal.