2003 Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er Cru

This wine was tasted as part of a vertical I organized of Marquis d’Angerville’s Volnay Clos des Ducs. It’s a wine I’ve loved and followed for many years. The Domaine is, of course, one of the most illustrious in Burgundy, thanks in part to the efforts of the current Marquis’ grandfather, Sem d’Angerville, who stood up to the négociants in the 1920s in response to their corrupt blending practices and who subsequently became one of the first to estate bottle his wines. On Sem’s death in 1952, he was succeeded by his son Jacques, who further burnished the reputation of the estate. Guillaume, the current Marquis d’Angerville, enjoyed a successful career as an investment banker in London, New York and Paris, taking over the estate when his father died unexpectedly in the summer of 2003. It was a real baptism by fire, as 2003 was the hottest vintage on record.

Renaud de Villette was hardly the only winemaker in Volnay who had not figured out how the conditions of 2004, and the high crop levels of the year, could produce fruit with potential alcohol of 13. 5% and up-higher than in 2003. In fact, noted Villette, the Volnay Fremiet was more affected by hail than the estate's other premier crus, but even here the grapes ripened despite the damage to the foliage. Even after doing a green harvest, the estate produced 39 hectoliters per hectare (compared to 22 in '03), high by the standards of this domain, due to large grapes and large bunches. Early on, Villette said, the wines' acids and tannins were in opposition. But with the late malos, most of which ended in August and September, they are now coming into harmony.

Winemaker Renaud de Villette acidified the 2003 musts but also noted that the acids went up during the fermentations due to the release of acidity from the thick skins of the grapes."The wines may age longer than we imagined at the beginning," he told me, "but they won't last like the '02s."Yields here were a tiny 22 to 23 hectoliters per hectare, despite the fact that there was virtually no frost damage.The estate harvested during the last six days of September, bringing in fruit that Villette described as "not particularly fresh but not burned either."After eliminating a lot of dried grapes, Villette did a shorter fermentation without any pigeages (but then he never does much in the way of punch-downs)."The wines were still hard in the early spring, without any charm or finesse," said Villette."But starting in March we have been able to find the typicity and charm of Volnay.At first the fruit was hidden by extraction and sheer matiere.But now we don't find 2003 to be particularly alcoholic or hot."Villette added that the alcohols are in the 13.5% range, and that the '04s are even higher.