Nothing demonstrates red Burgundy’s magic like Volnay, with its enveloping aromatic complexity, silky texture and amazing aging potential. And, for close to a century, the name Marquis d’Angerville has been synonymous with the commune’s greatest wines.
 
Three generations of D’Angerville have made the domaine the icon of Volnay, through methods that Burghound’s Allen Meadows calls “minimalist in the extreme.” Relying on old vines of a unique clone, Pinot d’Angerville, in the village’s finest crus, d’Angerville has proven that great wines are made in the vineyard.
 
The Great Champans
Throughout that time, the 1er cru of Champans has been one of the top sites—and thus one of the top wines—in d’Angerville’s glorious array.
 
As Meadows has written, “a classic Champans is a gorgeous combination of grace and power with noticeable minerality and plenty of muscle.” This is exactly what is found in d’Angerville’s bottles.
 
Since 2003, the wine has been made by Guillaume d’Angerville, who took charge upon the death of his legendary father Jacques. And, using the time-honored methods handed down from his ancestors, he nailed it in the great 2010 vintage, fashioning a Champans to rival any made in d’Angerville’s long history.
 
Yet, Guillaume has also inherited his predecessors’ amazing consistency, and the subsequent 2011 Champans comes very close to matching the 2010’s quality. And we’re pleased to be able to offer both wines in a compellingly priced mixed 6-pack.

Minimalism
The non-interventionist méthode d’Angerville that Guillaume learned from his father allows Champans’ character to be expressed with stunning purity. As Jacques d’Angerville told Burghound, “I want to do as little as possible to the wine. I want low yields and no signature.” The grapes are completely destemmed and the native-yeast fermentation takes a week and half to two weeks, followed by a 12-18 month élévage in largely used barrels.
 
Extractions are gentle, using pumpovers rather than punching down of the cap, for fine tannins.The results are startlingly pure renderings of the inherent nobility of the domaine’s crus, in wines of perfect balance and great aging ability.
 
With more than a decade of vintages under his belt, it is clear that the d’Angerville magic continues under Guillaume. In fact, the demand for the domaine’s peerless Volnays is even greater now than it was in Jacques’ day, putting increasing pressure on the small quantities made and causing prices to skyrocket.