2008 Volnay 1er Cru

Fruit from Mitans, Pitures, and Clos des Angles make up d’Angerville’s 2008 Volnay 1er Cru, although the cuvee of this name for many years included fruit from young vines of the estate’s top sites. Tart plum and red raspberry, fresh ginger and saline meat stock mingle on a firm palate, with a chalky sense to the wine’s bright finish. Gripping and energetic, if spare, and thankfully generous enough in primary fruit juiciness to avoid being downright austere, this ought to be worth following for 7-10 years. Guillaume d’Angerville and Renaud de Villette had good reason for their upbeat assessment of 2008 quality given the vintage’s travails, notably July hail that ravaged their Champans and parts of their villages and Bourgogne holdings, as well as touching other sites. The hail came too soon in the season, though, to have ill-effects on the eventual health of the fruit, and the team did not start picking until the 27th of September. With the exception of Clos des Ducs and Taillepieds – bottled the week of my April visit, but showing no ill-effects, au contraire – the 2008s were bottled in early March. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400