Domaine Marquis d'Angerville - Volnay 1er Cru Clos Des Ducs 2020

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Producer	Domaine Marquis d'Angerville
Country	France
Region	Burgundy
Subregion	Volnay 1er Cru
Varietal	Pinot Noir
Vintage	2020
Sku	12106279
Size	750ml

 

WA

95

D

96

V

95-97

The wines of the Marquis d'Angerville are some of the very best expressions of the unique terroirs of the Volnay region of Burgundy. Their holdings in some of the best sites only add to the mystique and sheer quality of the wines here. Today Guillaume d’Angerville is at the helm of the estate which has been in the family since 1805.

​​His grandfather, Sem d’Angerville, began bottling the estate's wines himself to protest corrupt blending practices of the negociants at the time, one of the first Burgundy domains to estate bottle their wines. Today the estate is producing some of the best wines in the entire Cote d’Or.

This iconic wine from the d’Angerville estate is a 2.15-hectare monopole that begins on the north side of the village and climbs up the white marl soils of the slope here, producing wines with a bright red berry fruit with notes of licorice, ginger, and violets. The wine is not as full-bodied as those south of the village, but with a lovely, silky character. D’Angerville explains that the aromas are 'almost peppery' and that recent vintages have delivered perfect conditions for Volnay. Drinking Window 2025 - 2060

Readers will have a fun time debating the relative merits of d'Angerville's 2018, 2019 and 2020 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs in 20 years' time, as for now it is a very close-run thing. The 2020 is certainly superb, wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet cherries, plums and berries mingled with spices, orange zest, peony and discreet hints of oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied, layered and seamless palate that's bright, elegant and rich but refined. Of the trio, it's probably the 2020 that carries the sunshine and warmth of the vintage the most lightly, even though the year was, on paper, the most extreme.

"We chose balance over so-called phenolic maturity," Guillaume d'Angerville declared as we began our tasting of his 2020s; and the vintage that on paper was the most extreme of the 2020-2019-2018 trio has in fact delivered the most fine-boned, pretty wines of them all. Perfumed, vibrant and beautifully balanced, this is a compellingly delicate, precise portfolio that comes warmly recommended.

The 2020 Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er Cru was picked around 23 August. It has a highly perfumed bouquet with rose petals, red cherries, raspberry and incenses, beautifully defined and wonderfully controlled. The palate also conveys a sense of effortlessness that is utterly beguiling. Very harmonious, balletically-poised thanks to its fine bead of acidity, this Clos des Ducs unfurls in the glass with a lilting, very pure and almost balletic finish. Quite saline on the aftertaste such that it urges you back for another sip. Sophisticated (as usual) yet delicious.