2017 Volnay Clos de Verseuil 1er Cru

At L’Expression, Ravion and Brisset offer a seasonal menu with updated bistro classics and a handful of more modern dishes, all done in a pure, ingredient-driven style that is hugely appealing.

I had heard a lot about winemaker Thibault Clerget in recent years, though this was the first time that I visited his winery in Pommard. The winery here actually belonged to his great uncle, Felix Clerget, and Yves prefers making his wines here instead of his father’s winery in Volnay. I can understand why. It is a slightly shabby but pretty, quite atmospheric winery decorated with statues of St. Vincent and a beautiful double wooden door, carved in the 1950s by an ancestor, a tableau depicting various winemaking scenes. "The first generation of the Clerget family to make wine was in 1268," Clerget told me. "I am the 28th generation. The last vintage of my father was 2009 and in 2010 and 2014 he sold the grapes to other domaines. I came back to the domaine in 2015 after studying at the Lycée Viticole, at Geisen in New Zealand, with Charles Van Canneyt (at Hudelot-Noëllat) for two years and at Drouhin in Oregon. There are currently six hectares of the domaine with one white under my négoce label." I asked about the tenets he applies. He told me: "We need to distinguish the terroirs. I focus on small yields, 30-to 35-hl/ha is the best, using less treatments in the vineyard. However I don’t look for any certification. All the 2018s were racked one month ago and will be bottled in January, the élevage 12 months in barrel and 4 months in tank. I am using the Chassin cooperage for the whites and for the reds, Tremeaux and Rousseau." I absolutely adored Clerget’s 2018s. I would go as far to say that here I found some of the finest expressions of Volnay, wines surfeit with purity, terroir expression, vibrant fruit and at times, quite ethereal levels of precision - remarkable given the type of growing season. Some of the cuvées are very limited in production, down to a barrel in a couple of cases, but do whatever you can to get hold of one. Who’s to bet against Yves Clerget’s name ranking alongside the likes of Lafarge in the future? Maybe it already does.

Thibaud Clerget's 2017s are very pretty wines that build on the successes of the 2015s and 2016s, although the more modest structure and depth of the vintage is very much in evidence. Harvest began on September 3 and lasted 5 days. In general, the wines are made with fully destemmed fruit, although the Clos Vougeot is done with about 50% whole clusters. The fruit saw 5-10 days of cold soak followed by 20-25 days on the skins. Élevage was 11-12 months in oak. I tasted all of the 2017s from tank prior to bottling. Thibaud Clerget remains one of the most bright and promising growers of his generation. What he has accomplished at a young age is already quite remarkable.