Marquis d'Angerville Volnay Clos des Ducs 2019

The 2019 Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er Cru has a typically aristocratic nose with layers of red and black fruit infused with shaved black truffle, crushed stone and pressed iris petals. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy saturated tannins, a voluminous Clos des Ducs that fills the mouth. Maybe a little spicier than usual, there is a generous pinch of cracked black pepper towards the finish and its normal extremely persistent aftertaste. Class from start to finish, cellar this for several years before even thinking about opening a bottle. 96-98

A gorgeously broad-ranging nose is comprised by notes of earth, spice, plum, dark cherry, violet and subtle wood. The sleek but rich and impressively scaled flavors possess fine density and evident power that carries over to the sappy, mineral-suffused, and palate coating finish that is admirably persistent. I very much like the balance of the muscular finale that makes clear that this is going to require an extended siesta in a cool cellar. In a word, brilliant. *Burghound Don't Miss Outstanding!* 94-97

The 2019 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs is immensely promising, mingling aromas of cherries and cassis with notions of orange rind, violets, raw cocoa and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's bright and concentrated, built around powdery tannins and tangy acids. The 2019 vintage has turned out very well indeed at Domaine Marquis d'Angerville, where Guillaume d'Angerville and François Duvivier have produced yet another superb portfolio. A touch finer-boned and more vibrant than the estate's 2018s—though the monopole Clos des Ducs always seems to transcend the vintage—the 2019s are beautiful wines that exemplify the elegant muscularity that I'd single out as this domaine's underlying signature over the decades. 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. 94-96

The Clos des Ducs is the large d’Angerville monopole at the top of the premier crus, nourished by underground springs. There is a little valley that funnels cool air down from the Hautes Côtes that keeps the wines very fresh, an advantage in a warm year. This shows marvellous, bright blackcurrant and mulberry fruit aromas, with plenty of earthy complexity. The tannins are firm, but have a very silky texture and there's lovely length on the finish. Drinking Window 2024 - 2034.