The 2021 Domaine Joseph Voillot Volnay Les Champans Premier Cru is from the domain’s largest premier cru holding, 4.2 acres whose vines date from 1934, 1971, and 1985. Champans is down-slope in the premier cru band, and its wine typically has more fruit and power than other Voillot Volnays.
Review:
‘The 2021 Volnay Les Champans Ter Cru has much more brightness and delineation than the Fremiets this year, with red cherries, wild strawberries and ust a touch of iodine and sous-bois. This is nicely focused. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine structure, pliant tannins and a harmonious finish. Not the most complex Champans encountered from this address, yet it has class.
-Vinous 91-93 Points
The 2021 les Champans is also a simply stunning example of this fine premier cru vineyard. The beautifully elegant nose wafts from the glass in a blend of red and black plums, cherries, spit-roasted quail, a complex base of soil, woodsmoke, coffee bean and a deft touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off superb depth at the core, great soil signature, ripe, fine-grained tannins and a long, nascently complex and very promising finish. This is a touch more reserved on the palate than the Fremiets and will take a bit longer to blossom, but it is going to be stellar. 2034-2085.
93+ pts- John Gilman, View from the Cellar #102
The Domaine Joseph Voillot Volnay Les Fremiets Premier Cru is from a parcel that is up-slope, and the wine is very calcaire, or limestony; you literally taste the stone in this elegant, intensely perfumed wine. Pair with veal filet mignon, squab, beef steak and roast duckling.
Review:
I really like this terroir and the 2021 is an absolutely classic example of this fine premier cru, offering up a refined and pure bouquet of black plums, dark berries, coffee bean, a complex base of dark soil tones, a nice touch of new oak and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very elegant in profile, with a superb core, lovely soil signature, ripe, suave tannins and a long, vibrant and complex finish. Fine, fine juice. 2033-2080.
93 pts- John Gilman, View from the Cellar #102
Tim Atkin 93 Points
Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Vaillons Premier Cru is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Chablis achieves its highly distinctive mineral character due to its cool northerly climate and its highly calcareous soil. The Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Vaillons Premier Cru is a generous, fleshy and lively wine that displays a beautiful balance of minerality, fruitiness and elegance.
Chablis, with its steely character and fresh citrus flavor, pairs well with white fish and shellfish and its naturally high acidity can counterbalance cream-based sauces. Unoaked Chablis lends itself well to vegetables, starches, Comté, or fresh goat cheese.
Domaine Nico le Paradis Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
The cool climate vineyard that belongs to Laura and her sister Adrianna Catena feels like paradise itself to Laura. It is lined by trees and fruit orchards, with majestic views of the Andes. Inside the 12 Hectare vineyard, there is a little house with two tiny bedrooms and a kitchen, where Laura dreams of spending a whole month reading books-Laura's version of paradise. The little house is affectionately named Chateau Laura. About the Vineyard The tiny parcel where Le Paradis is grown was planted in 2011 with Dijon 667 Clones over two acres. Wine Production The grapes from this small parcel were elaborated in 15 separate microvinifications.
All the microvinifications were fermented with indigenous yeast. 20% of the microvinifications were fermented with 100% whole clusters in oak roll-fermentor of 600L and low temp (22 Celcius degrees). 40% were fermented with 20% whole cluster in small vats of 800L and 40% fermented in small vats of 800L without sulfites until 4%V/V of alcohol.
Review:
From soils rich in calcium carbonate and sand, in a vineyard 1,600 meters above sea level, this wine comes from a selection of 2.7 hectares that produced very little fruit in 2016, just barely enough to fill 800 bottles. But watch out for this white, with its edge, its minerality, those saline notes that are so characteristic of chardonnay from the chalky Gualtallary soils. The wine was aged for a year in used barrels, and it has some of the toast, but here it’s the deep minerality that dominates.
Patricio Tapia - Descorchados 96 Points
Maison Roy Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
The Willamette Valley Pinot Noir combines fruit from Roy's Dundee and Yamhill-Carlton estates. Gentle and suave, this Pinot offers inviting red fruit, baking spice, and a touch of purple floral tone. On the palate, a soft tannic structure makes this wine friendly and accessible in its youth and will keep drinking very well for the next 5-7years.
Dominus Napa Valley Red Blend is made from 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot.
The historic Napanook Vineyard, a 124-acre site west of Yountville, was planted in 1838. This vineyard was the source of fruit for some of the finest Napa Valley wines. Estate-bottled in the spirit of the Bordeaux châteaux, Dominus Estate is dry-farmed to allow natural stress and good concentration of fruit. Grape clusters are crop-thinned to allow sun and air to pass in between, helping to achieve full maturation and soften the tannins. Only 20% to 40% new French oak barrels are used in order to limit the extraction of oak notes. To express the unique terroir, the classic Bordeaux grape varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot are planted with different root stocks best suited for the varying soil composition of gravel, heavy clay and loam.
Reviews:
One of the legendary Dominus, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is unquestionably in the same league as the 2018, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2010, and 1991, and to my mind, wine simply doesn't get any better. Sporting a dense purple hue as well as an incredible perfume of blackcurrants, crushed stone, cedar pencil, smoke tobacco, and baking spices, it s rich, full-bodied, and voluptuously textured, with ripe yet building tannins. It reminds me slightly of the 2010 (maybe the 2013), and I suspect it will have a similar evolution. Hide bottles for 7-8 years, and it will evolve gracefully for 30+ years. Hats off to the team of Christian Moueix and director Tod Mostero.
Jeb Dunnuck 100 Points
Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc
20 months in French oak (only about a third of that is new oak) and for 20 more months in bottle before release
Our winemaking "style" is solely determined by this place or terrior we call "Paradigm." Winemaking is agriculture when you own your vineyards and are able to farm them to promote the very best Earth will give you. All of our selections of wines are made from five varietals on the estate. Every wine is 100% farmed and grown by us.
Complexity in our wines supported by luscious fruit and acidity is our hallmark. Our efforts during harvest and barrel cellaring concentrate on maintaining the freshness from the first day we handpicked each vineyard block. Simple winemaking protocols are employed while crucial “timing” oriented winemaking decisions rule each day.
A fresh, wild, and savory expression with vibrant acidity and an elegant structure. Earth-laced fruit aromas of blackberry bramble, dark cherry, and huckleberry seamlessly intertwine with savory hints of curry leaves and lobster mushrooms, accented by subtle notes of dried orange peel and baking spices. Earthy and floral elements—forest floor, conifer needles, and rose hips—carry through to the palate, beautifully integrated with effusive raspberry and cherry notes, leading to a long, spicy finish.
This impressive Pinot is polished and detailed, offering dynamic flavors of raspberry and blueberry, with mineral and brown baking spice hints that build richness toward fine-grained tannins.
#11 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2025