Dom. Yvon Clerget
Les Caillerets Premier Cru
Volnay
2016

The producer

Domaine Clerget was founded in 1859 by Louis Clerget. The estate has been passed down through generations, with current management under the direction of Alexis Clerget, who continues the family tradition of producing wines from their prestigious Volnay vineyards. The Domaine covers 6 hectares, with key holdings in Les Caillerets, Les Chênes Carteaux, and Les Lurets. Fermentation occurs with indigenous yeasts and partial whole-cluster inclusion to enhance aromatic complexity. The wines are aged in 25-40% new French oak barrels for 12-18 months, allowing for integration of oak while maintaining fruit purity and minerality. The Volnay wines from Domaine Clerget are more structured and precise compared to many other producers in the region, with a focus on elegance and mineral-driven character rather than overt fruitiness. The wines have strong aging potential, with a balance of acidity and long finish.

The wine

Domaine Clerget's Volnay Les Caillerets is sourced from a 0.8-hectare parcel with south-southeast exposure, benefiting from limestone-rich soils that promote mineral complexity. The grapes are hand-harvested, followed by fermentation with indigenous yeasts and whole-cluster inclusion to enhance aromatic depth. The wine is aged for 12-18 months in 30-40% new French oak, with a focus on gentle extraction to preserve finesse and structure. The result is a wine with intense red fruit, floral, and mineral notes, balanced by vibrant acidity, refined tannins, and a long, precise finish.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.