There are 40 cm of soil here before you hit the rock, and there is a serious vivacity of the wine to show for it—even with only 40-year-old vines. Black cherries and black plums cavort with oodles of savory spices. Also unsurprisingly, there is abundant ripeness here with a wee touch of warmth. Beautifully balanced overall, this has easy-going approachability in spades.

The 2023 Volnay 1er Cru Fremiet is deeper-pitched than Les Angles, wafting from the glass with notes of raspberries, plums and licorice. It's medium to full-bodied, supple and charming, with a succulent core of fruit, polished tannins and a saline finish 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)

The 2023 Volnay Fremiet 1er Cru has a taut and fresher nose than the Clos des Angles, with touches of oyster shell filtering through the bright red fruit. The palate is ripe on entry, silky smooth in texture, and this displays fine delineation. There is more grip and backbone here with a sapid, peppery finish that lingers. This has a sensuality that I hope is captured once in bottle.(NM)