Today Burgundy producers are known by their name, and then subsequently the hierarchy of the land on which they farm - it's perhaps the defining trait when it comes down to understanding Burgundy, and why it's set apart from anywhere else in the world. Unlike say Bordeaux, or really any other wine-producing region, a bottle of Burgundy has two pieces of the jigsaw that determines its value - who produces it, and where do they produce it.

You could have a marquee producer, who produces a bottle at a Village classification or simply labels their wines at a Regional level where they've bundled in grapes from numerous vineyards, and you'll find that the bottle goes for shockingly attractive prices. And then on the other end of the scale, said marquee producer could do a Monopole on top of a Grand Cru, meaning that they are the only vineyard of that sub-region that's also classified as being the best soils in Burgundy, and it'll go for an eye watering price.

It wasn't (and isn't) always the case that growers would bottle their own wines, which was a massive financial undertaking and not many could bear the risk. The d'Angerville's commitment to authenticity took time to bear fruit, but the family has persevered over three generations.

And so with Burgundy, with any bottle, there are pretty much two moving scales - producer, and locale. That's all made the highly revered region so deep in terms of its universe, and also that much opaque, as one would have to be familiar with the producer and the vast assortment of vineyards. 

Now hard to believe, but this wasn't always the case - not too long ago, in the 1800's, Burgundy's growers would simply sell their fruit to collectives, who in turn would pass them on to negociants who would make the wines and retail them, and therefore obviously became the natural gatekeepers between Burgundy fans and the growers themselves. This was highly lucrative for the negociants, and as you might've guessed, not so great for growers who received just a sliver of the pie, or for fans who did not benefit from any transparency or appreciation of the terroir despite paying high prices. It wasn't until folks like Sem d'Angerville came along and put his foot down to all of this. Growers like him knew the value of their estate, and began to bottle wines under their own name and create not just a brand for themselves, but a relationship with its drinkers, and offered more in the way of appreciating their produce. And that's why Marquis d'Angerville remains one of the most revered producers in Burgundy.

So let's talk about it!

The Marquis d'Angerville is marked by three successive generations of winemakers who really did little to do with anything wine related before their induction to the family estate - which is always alittle amusing to wine lovers given how highly regarded the estate is. The d'Angerville name is predominantly focused on the Volnay commune, somewhere near the central part of the Beaune sub-region of the length Burgundy strip. The earliest beginnings of the estate starts with a Baron, Jean-Baptiste Eugene Jobard du Mesnil, who makes the family's first acquisition just after the turn of the 1800's, snatching up the Clos des Ducs, which also happens to a Monopole (an area that is controlled by a single vineyard), and remains the centerpiece of the Marquis d'Angerville stable.

du Mesnil would come to acquire several more parcels of land, all around the Volnay area, and would pass it on to successive generations until his grandson, who had no direct heir, would pass the estate on to his nephew, Sem (Marquis) d'Angerville. This marked the start of the family's estate's ascension to fame. Sem had studied to be an artist, and thus when he was handed the reins to the estate in 1906, had little experience or knowledge about winemaking - he was just 15 years old! He thus began gaining real world experience tending to the family's vineyards, much of which had been destroyed by Phylloxera by the time he had inherited it. He would gradually replant the vineyards, and in doing so, found great love and affection for the vines that he had put much effort into tending.

The commune of Volnay in central Beaune.

Sem changed the game for Burgundian producers when he fought to promote what he deemed as authenticity in Burgundy wines - this meant putting our labels that not only conveyed transparently where the wines were from, but for the wines to itself be an authentic expression of the terroir from which it was grown. This meant producing and bottling his own wines on-domain, as opposed to selling his fruit to cooperatives, to be passed on to negociants, who would do as they pleased with it. This led the charge for other now legendary growers like Rousseau in Gevrey-Chambertin to do exactly the same. Sem would even go on to help define and establish the French AOC system in the mid-1930's, which he called his personal accomplishment.

And despite his great stature, he never once abused the formative yet vulnerable early start of the classification system to his benefit - not one of his Volnay estates were awarded Grand Cru status which would entrench their high dollar value for decades to come. He did not want to profit off the system he dearly wanted to see come to fruition, which he believed would bring true authenticity to the wines of Burgundy.

The third d'Angerville, Guillaume, has converted the family's vineyards to biodynamic practices since 2006.

When it came time to retire, Sem would request of his son, Jacques d'Angerville to take over the estate in 1950. Jacques too had pursued a less agrarian life, he was a young adult studying in Paris. Jacques would follow in the footsteps of his father and learn everything on-site. As was befitting, Jacques would also become a major figure in Burgundy, serving as the President of the union of the region's producers. Jacques abrupt death in the early 2000's would prompt his son Guillaume, who had pursued a career in banking at the time, to return to the family's vineyards and similarly learn the ropes from scratch. Today Guillaume continues to helm the Marquis d'Angerville estate and has even expanded its footprint into the much more hipster region of Jura, where he manages the Domaine du Pelican estate.

Now before you're tempted to think that this is all the work of incredible terroir - that would only be partially true - the soils on which Volnay rests are rocky with a significant amount of marl and limestone which gives its fruit structure and minerality that is the pre-requisite for long ageing potential. Nevertheless, the successive generations of d'Angerville's deserve their share of credit too. Under the helm of Sem and Jacques, the high quality Pinot d'Angerville clone was well cultivated in the family's vineyards - recall that Sem had his work cut out for him post-Phylloxera and had to pretty much replant the entire vineyards. Guillaume's contribution then has to be the vineyard's conversion to biodynamic farming in 2006, once he had taken over proper.

Broadly, quality has been kept up through the use of yield control, limiting the amount of fruit that meets the mark to be made into the family's wines, whilst the vineyards are kept as natural and sustainable as possible. Harvest is kept entirely manual, and determined alongside the use of analytics. The fruit is destemmed, carefully loaded into vats to prevent the crushing of berries, where fermentation is done with natural yeasts after a brief period of cold pre-fermentation maceration. The focus in the cellars is to apply gentle and natural extraction, and then gravity-fed into oak barrels (20% new oak on average) where they age for about 18 months.

With that all said, let's give two single vineyard Volnay expressions from Marquis d'Angerville a go - we've got the 2020 Champans and the 2019 Fremiet.

Let's go!

Wine Review: 2020 Volnay Champans 1er Cru, Domaine Marquis d'Angerville

The Champans vineyard ranges just under 4 hectares, located in the center of the Volnay Premier Crus, stretching across the Champans appellation across a hillside facing southeast. One part of the vineyard features more rocky limestone soils, whilst the other is more clay and stone focused.

The Marquis d'Angerville Champans is classified as a Volnay 1er cru.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Garnet

Aroma: Opens with a lot of of that pinot noir barnyard funk, really rustic, with notes of hay and animal hide. It's also alittle smoky, with a slight bit of flint. And beneath that is a bed of sweeter, richer herbal notes that is reminiscent of a traditional Chinese dessert Cheng Tng (rock sugar soup cooked with an assortment of herbs and roots), brown sugar, really evocative, bold and aromatic. And at the core are some blackcurrant gummies, really concentrated and almost chewy.

Taste: Really good richness here, again that richer, herbal note of brown sugar and Cheng Tng has carried over to the palate. It's sweeter, very velvety and plush, yet firm. It's got a really lovely depth and again chewiness from that blackcurrant gummy. Medium-bodied, with a fuller feel to it. Great concentration and richness.

Finish: Some light earthy notes of tobacco and cloves, that barnyard funk comes through again here with some hay and animal hide, with more on blackcurrant jams. A light dryness and a clean finish.

My Thoughts

An utterly amazing piece of work here - absolutely breathtaking, I should say! The concentration and richness here was just a whole other level, with a side I've not yet experienced before, this sweet, rich and herbal quality that is almost that of brown sugar or rock sugar dessert soup. And at the core is a total burst of blackcurrant gummies that has an almost chewy texture and bounciness from its tension. It's rich and concentrated, yet completely elegant with a plush velvety texture. The icing on top of the cake for me was that light barnyard rusticity that gave it a freshness and purity of its sense of place. This was absolutely gorgeous.  

Wine Review: 2019 Volnay Fremiet 1er Cru, Domaine Marquis d'Angerville

On to the second from d'Angerville, we have the Fremiet, also a Volnay 1er cru, this vineyard is just slightly over 1.5 hectares, and is located below the Clos des Ducs, which is the estate's famed vineyard.

Here the soil is characterised by decomposing marl rocks, a mixture of clay and limestone, laid across a rather steep slope.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Light Ruby

Aroma: Gentler here, still incredibly rich. There's a light veil of that barnyard funk of hay and animal hide. There's some tobacco leaves, as well as some blackcurrant cordials at the base. Here the nose feels softer. With time, more of that horse fur scent emerges.

Taste: A really lovely richness here, with such an elegant yet concentrated body. It's medium-bodied, again with a fullness to it, holding in it soft and gentle notes of raspberries and blackberries, some tobacco leaves. It's soft yet supple, with such a depth and richness, as well as being incredibly rounded and cohesive, with such straightforward yet bold flavours.

Finish: More on that gentle note of tobacco, here the fruits develop into more on berry jams, with just a light dryness.

My Thoughts 

Where the Champans had a bolder and more forward aroma, the Fremiet delivered a more elegant body. It was alittled muted on the nose, but it all really came together on the palate - soft berries, bold yet rich, uncomplicated and with a fullness to it. It was incredibly supple, and felt more embracing and open. It's less on the tension, yet more on its depth. Here the Fremiet trades away chewy blackcurrant gummies that we found on the Champans, for a somewhat brighter yet more cordial and jammy expression of the fruit. Within its body, it felt incredibly saturated and rich, which was just absolutely lovely as well.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot