TN: d'Angerville Volnay Champans 2010 - Oh Boy!

Marquis d’Angerville, Volnay, Champans 1er Cru, 2010
You know those wines that you think you might enjoy two glasses of during dinner and then have to control yourself not to drink the whole damn bottle? You know those bottles of well-bred Burgundy that unfold elegantly before you and remind you why you spend so much on them? You know those bottles that help you understand why you endure/rationalize many meh wines from the region? Well, this one of those wines.

This just hit all the cylinders – village, producer, vintage, drinking window, etc. This is the essence of Volnay to me – exquisitely red-fruited, airy, stony, succulent, with that rose petals-meets-loam aroma. Trademark d’Angerville crystal-clear ruby color (they must filter right? And if they do, it’s none the worse for wear) and silky mouthfeel. Seamless and supremely balanced along a mineral spine. Such finesse!

I was curious if this bottle would be open for business, but in my experience d’Angervilles rarely shut down hard (save for the Ducs). The vintage seems ideally suited to this domaine’s style. Bottles like this give me great hope for the 2010s I have sleeping. Yes, it’s early days and I don’t want to over-extrapolate from a few bottles, but the 2010s strike me as likely always being more accessible and winsome than the big boy 2005s and 2009s. I’ll take the reserve/elegance over the power. But to each his/her own! I will start drinking my remaining bottles about five years from now – still much, much upside.

This was opened about an hour before dinner and was allowed to warm and evolve over the course of several hours. Served with roasted arctic char and root vegetables.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Great note, and totally agree. This wine doesn’t get the attention that it deserves. Even the 2011 is fabulous!

Excellent note. d’Angerville’s Champans is one of my go-to red burgs that punches way above its weight (in the same category as wines like Gouges LSG, Faiveley Cazetiers, etc.). I haven’t had the '10, but it sounds predictably superb.

A top 5 producer for me and my sentimental favorite. Drinking D’Angerville always thrills me.

Great note, can’t go wrong.

Matthew, thanks for the note. This sounds like my mind’s eye Volnay. I’ve got a few of these resting comfortably in the cellar. I’ll live vicariously through you for now and join you in 5-7 years in starting in on them.

My LWS has the 2010 Taillepieds sitting on the shelf at $106 and I’m thinking about stuffing my own stocking for Xmas.

Buy all of that Taillepieds, keep what you want, and send the rest to me. (Totally serious.) Killer piece on a killer wine.

Love this. Volnay is special when well made.

I drink a lot of burgundy, very few trophies, and have vanishingly few meh wines. I don’t think my experience is all that unusual.

Glad you enjoyed the Champans. Just finished the last of my '93s.

Thanks for sharing Matthew. I agree these wines are just a delight.

Have a bunch of 2005 and 2006’s
Thanks that I keep in storage…otherwise they wold b gone.

Love all their wines!

Just by coincidence I had the Angerville Taillepieds 2010 in my glass last sunday, served by a friend.
While it showed a lot of potential and is certainly a fine wine it is far (FAR !) too young, with a mixture of quite deep primary fruit and lots of structure in the foreground - admirable but at least half-closed - and I´m a bit puzzled that one is here so raving about the Champans from the same stable and vintage (which cannot be that much different now).

This just hit all the cylinders – village, producer, vintage, drinking window, etc. This is the essence of Volnay to me – <<

I mean: these great wines need a minimum of 15-20 years to come close to maturity and showing real complexity and everything they are containing - but this TN sounds to me as if the writer would like to drink a full case over the next two weeks, so great is his excitement …

FWIW: I´m a regular buyer of Angerville whenever I can get bottles at a decent price, and have tasted a good 25 vintages and many crus, including really old ones - so I know what I´m talking about …

I’m not surprised that the Tallepieds might close up before the Champans. That’s usually one for the long haul.

Both are for the long haul (had a 1978 in September) - and while Taillepieds is above Champans on the slope I never noticed big differences in structure or behavior in maturity.
No, I´m not going into my cellar to verify how closed the ´10 Champans is now —

And I don’t own any so I can’t speak to the bottle. But in general I love Burgundy both before it shuts down and after the long wait to come into maturity so I may not be as surprised that someone could be so ecstatic over a 2010.

Robert:

What can I say? I was merely sharing my impressions of this one particular bottle on one particular night.

My note wasn’t a call for everyone holding 2010 Angervilles to open them all in the next two weeks. In my note, I say that I will wait at least five years before starting to sample my remaining bottles. The board has already hashed out numerous times the debate about whether someone must be a Philistine if they even think about opening a pedigreed Burgundy 15 years before vintage date.

I hope my note conveys that this wine is supremely well made and has so much potential, but on the one night it also gave me a great deal of pleasure for whatever reason. What more can I ask of a wine?

Will the wine improve over time? No doubt. Was it a mistake to open it this week? No way.

Personally I’d think that 5 years from now is much more likely to be a waste (i.e., the wine having shut down) than opening it now.

Nice to know the 2010 was rocking. Can recall some really nice Pousse d’Or Volnays on release as well.

Opened a 2012 Champans (same producer) over the summer and it was one of the worst burg experiences I’ve had. Way too much oak tannin, and even day 2 wasn’t much better. Think I heard that the next generation recently took over winemaking duties here, so not sure if any differences behind the scenes in 2010 were significantly different, but I’d be curious.

Yes, the wine (and producer) is top notch - but I think it will be much better in 15 years.

Absolutely agree, in between (3-12 years) it is even harder to get ebything from it.
Even a 1999 last spring was definitely not mature.

When to open any bottle of wine for enjoyment …is really up the preference of the individual.