With eight premier cru vineyards – an impressive and enviable portfolio, the domaine is today overseen by Guillaume D’Angerville, following the death of his father Jacques in 2003. Guillaume heads a team which includes his brother-in-law, Renaud de Villette, who had worked alongside Jacques for a number of years, and François Duvivier, in the vineyard and cellar. Renaud, François and Guillaume are acutely aware of their responsibility to these great terroirs.
After years of research and experimentation, the Domaine is now fully biodynamic. In the most simplistic terms, biodynamic viticulture embraces cosmic rhythms, philosophy and metaphysics as much as agricultural disciplines. It encourages a complex variety of species which make for living, breathing soils and healthier, disease-resistant vines. With responsibility for some of the best of Volnay, meticulous care is fundamental to the Domaine’s philosophy and this is reflected in the finished wines. This is a complex estate with the highest rated vineyard being Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs, monopole essentially the garden of main house. These are long-lived wines, at the very top of the quality ladder.
93-95 Points Allen Meadows
his is the first wine to exhibit enough oak to warrant mentioning though it’s not so much to dominate the spicy and earth black cherry liqueur-like aromas. The sleek middle weight plus flavors are given shape by the fine but dense tannins that carry over to the impressively persistent finish that is exquisitely well-balanced. This is an exercise in harmony and grace that should be approachable after 6 to 8 years if desired. Outstanding. Drink 2027+.
93+ Points William Kelley (Wine Advocate)
The 2015 Volnay 1er Cru Champans is superb, wafting from the glass with notes of cassis, red cherry, raspberry and candied peel that is still very fruit driven, savory nuances only emerging with extended aeration. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, powerful and muscular, with an authoritative chassis of fine-grained but firm tannins and a deep core of crunchy fruit. This is shutting down, but it’s full of promise for the future.