2023 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru "Clos des Ducs"

Aromas of dark berries cassis and cherries mingled with spices and orange rind in a complex bouquet introduce the 2023 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs, a medium to full-bodied, complete wine that in some respects represents the synthesis of the d'Angerville premiers crus—the finesse and perfume of Caillerets, the layers of Taillepieds and the structure of Champans, united in a whole that's more than the sum of its parts. Guillaume d'Angerville and technical director François Duvivier began the harvest on September 4, 2023, picking only in the mornings, reporting yields no higher than in 2022. Supple, sensual and fragrant, these wines will offer a broad drinking window. As I've written before, followers of d'Angerville will be familiar with the protocol here: biodynamic farming, destemmed grapes, classical macerations and élevage in barrels—of which some 20% are new, with older barrels generally being retained for five vintages. These have always been seriously long-lived wines, but contemporary d'Angerville isn't quite as backward and slow to evolve as the wines were in the days of Guillaume d'Angerville's father. The use of barrels with a somewhat younger average age—even if percentages of new wood remain very modest—gives them a slightly glossier patina, especially in their youth.(WK)

This beautiful, sloped vineyard amounts to 52 ouvrées. Rather big in Burgundy these days! The nose exudes bright cherry fruits before the palate feel starts to dominate. The tannins have a bit of a gnaw at the palate (in a pleasantly grippy way—surely from the white clay soils), and they are reinforced by the acidity melts gently into the palate. For such an age-worthy wine, it is impressive that this is by far the most integrated of the lot.