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Marquis d'Angerville Vertical

"The historic d’Angerville estate was one of the earliest domaine bottlers in Burgundy, and its wines have amassed a stellar track record inside and outside France since the 1930s. Since Guillaume d’Angerville took over, top grower Burgundies have been elevated in stature..." - Antonio Galloni

 

 

Fall means more Burgundy is arriving!! Today we offer one of the most heralded & historic Burgundy houses on record-- Domaine Marquis d'Angerville. The 2023 vintage is here, and it is characterized by elegance, juicy red fruit, balance, softness, integrated tannins, perfumed as opposed to meaty, and a vintage that you won't have to wait decades to consume.  I love that.  Think drinkability of 2020 but less powerhouse extraction.

D'Angerville has a lengthy history, starting at about the 15th century with their famous "Clos des Ducs" vineyard, recognized one of the top 1er cru sites in Volnay.  (Clos des Ducs is this old as a recognized site, but was replanted in the early 1900s by Sem d'Angerville after the Phylloxera epidemic. Through the centuries the reigns have been passed down, but one of the most coveted stories of the domain, is in the 1930s, Burgundy took a hit to it's reputation when the negociants who sold Burgundy in bulk were quietly blending syrah and riper grapes from the south in to "beef up" the wines.  Purchasers were deceived and started refusing the wines, thus started the movement to establish a higher level of quality and regain trust.  It was none other than Sem d'Angerville who took it upon himself to refuse to sell his wine to the negociants for resale and was the first estate in Burgundy to bottle their own wines.  This is a big reason why to this day we see the phrase "mis en bouteille au domaine" on French wines--letting everyone know the wine is in fact estate-bottled. Shortly after this, Sem and the Henri Gouges--another Iconic producer, were asked to develop the famous hierarchy of Burgundy vineyards, which they completed in 1935 with the creation of the Appellation d’Origin Controlée (AOC) system.  Along with that came another piece of Burgundian history: "When d’Angerville and Gouges were mandated to devise the Burgundy classification, they publicly announced that there would be no grand crus in their home villages of Volnay and Nuits-Saint-Georges, so that they could not be accused of taking advantage of their mission to advance their own interests."


If you care to read a long story on the history of d'Angerville, Clos des Ducs, and Burgundy, Vinous has an amazing article here.
A brief overview of Marquis d'Angerville:

Domaine Marquis D`Angerville consists of 13.5 hectares of vineyards, which includes holdings in no fewer than 8 Volnay 1er crus and smaller holdings in Pommard and Meursault.  In the 1920s the Marquis d`Angerville was one of Burgundy's true pioneers - he fought corruption and indifference to quality, which at the time was rife amongst Beaune merchants, and was one of the first producers to initiate estate bottling. Jacques d`Angerville took over the reins in 1952 and has over the years steadily refined the practices both in the vineyard and in the cellar. François Duvivier was appointed to run the vineyards and the winemaking in 2005.

Today the wines are exemplary, and the key seems to be low yields, a high average vine age and a very judicious use of new oak in the élevage. The wines are remarkably long-lived and some of the most sought-after in the Côte D'Or. The estate is now fully converted to biodynamics.  Jacques D’Angerville’s non-interventionist winemaking, learned from his father, allowed their fine terroirs to be fully expressed. As he told Allen Meadows, “I want to do as little as possible to the wine. I want low yields and no signature.” After complete destemming, fermentation lasted 10 to 12 days, with a 12 to 18-month élévage in largely used barrels.  To extract fine tannins, the cap was kept moist by twice-daily pump overs. Such methods not only brought out the crus’ inherent nobility; they created wines of perfect balance and great aging ability.

The d'Angerville wines are old school Burgundies through and through--rustic, pure, haunting, edgy, but elegant, intense but filigreed. The 2022 vintage was a wonderful one at this address, and is said to be a stand producer of the vintage.  Critics have scored the wines very well, and given the inconsistencies from other domaines this vintage, the praises and scores are even more meaningful at this address.  

We have a nice lineupall thw ay up to the flagship Clos des Ducs.  All Prices are discounted and are the lowest in the US.  Quantities are very small, with just 6 bottles of each and 1 rare magnum of Ducs.  
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