Young vines trying hard here.
'99 D’Angerville Volnay Caillerets-
Beautiful nose with an array of subtle earth and metal shavings. The fruit is ripe and distinctly jammy and lacks the midpalate depth of the older vine offerings. Good acidity and finishing complexity. I really enjoy this now for it’s wonderful minerality and approachability. Good stuff.
Kevin,
Agreed, I’m happily surpirsed at how well those young vines did, the '02 is really nice as well. I love that d’Angerville and Lafarge are making good versions now as it might be the most complete vineyard in Volnay.
Thanks for the update on the '99.
Cheers,
-Robert
I bought this wine from the 2005 vintage, but have not tried it yet. I think the vines were about 15 years old in 2005?
Kevin,
Thanks for the note. However, I seem to recall that the vines were replaced in 1998 and 2003, which makes it unlikely that the 1999 was made from young vines only. Was there some premature replacement I’m not aware about?
Mike,
Per Lew’s comment, I vaguely recall that the Caillerets vines were planted around 1989-90 but now that you mention it, I am not sure.
Kevin,
I have only a couple of bottles of the 99 Caillerets. Would you drink them now or save them?
Mike,
Maybe more of the vines were replaced in those years, but like Kevin, I think there was a major replanting around 1990.
Cheers,
-Robert
I’ve got a couple of 1999 Les Fremiets in the cellar. Any insight on that vineyard from D’Angerville?
What do you mean by this?
You’ve piqued my curiosity.
Howard,
I enjoy them now but they are still improving. There is no rush.
The only knock on this wine is the jammy character.
Nathan,
Just that good Caillerets has everything I want in a Volnay and nothing else, so for me it’s the quintessential Volnay (along with Clos des Ducs). It has the minerality, elegance, serious depth without any sense of heaviness, long detailed finish, etc. I love d’Angerville’s Champans, but it can be a little big, a little round, and not minerally enough to scream Volnay in the way a good Caillerets can. Or take one of my favorite wines, not just in Volnay but anywhere, Lafarge Chenes. Flat out great wine, but it can be bigger, maybe a bit less ethereal on the nose (in the way the Richebourg can be less ethereal than RSV), and doesn’t necessarily have the same streak of minerality. And if you look at the Chenes from other producers, for me they’re not necessarily as complete versions of Volnay as a serious Caillerets is. Which is why I’m so excited that my two favorite Volnay producers (Lafarge and d’Angerville) are now making serious Caillerets.
Cheers,
-Robert
Thanks Robert. That is exactly what I’m looking for. Barthod Chambolle style Volnay. I’m always disappointed in the Champans because I expect it to be more like what you describe as Caillerets, but It is the easiest to find at good prices so I end up buying it. Not terribly bright of me.
That’s the nature of Champans, Nathan. I used to dislike it, too, until I realized that that’s what Champans is supposed to be. Once you realize that and you go to Champans when you want a fleshy, forward, what-you-see-is-what-get type of wine and not ethereal finesse, you won’t be disappointed. Which is not to say that you nevertheless might still have a preference for Caillerets (I certainly do), but at least you won’t be looking for something in Champans that isn’t there and never will be.
Same for all the major Volnay vineyards. Taillepieds will give you a harder, more structured wine because that’s the way Taillepieds is (and Lafarge’s Clos des Chênes will give you a Taillepieds-type of wine because it adjoins Taillepieds and has the same subsoil as Taillpieds and so really should be classified as Taillepieds); and other Clos des Chênes give you a lighter, airier wine but different from the finesse of Caillerets because they are high up on the hill and Caillerets is down by the bottom, etc., etc.
In reality, the most significant way that Chambolle and Volnay resemble each other is not in finesse, but in the diversity of their many vineyards that gives a much greater range of expression than most people think of.
Speaking of Champans, any comments on D’Angerville’s '99?
Gregg,
Had it about it a year ago and it’s relatively accessible, although young. As Claude noted, I think it’s the best of the d’Angerville 1ers to drink on the younger side. It’ll continue to develop, but isn’t tight or hiding everything.
Cheers,
-Robert
Claude,
That’s really interesting and I hadn’t know that, but it makes a lot of sense as his Chenes seems so different from most Chenes, being more structured and having much more depth. I’ve never really been a huge Chenes fan, but really love Lafarge’s version, so your explanation has the world making more sense to me now. Thanks.
Cheers,
-Robert
Robert – You know, I had the same puzzlement as you for many years, as neither Michel nor Frédéric Lafarge offered that information (they weren’t hiding anything, it just never occurred to them to mention it) – it came out in a discussion of Volnay vineyards 15 or so years ago with Hubert de Montille when I noted the difference between Lafarge’s Clos des Chênes and all the others that I knew and Hubert said, “Bah, c’est parce que c’est un Taillepieds” (“That’s because it’s a Taillepieds” – I can still hear him saying it and see Etienne nodding in agreement). When he said that, it was like scales dropped off my eyes and everything fell perfectly in place. I then checked with the Lafarges on my next visit and they confirmed it, and since have visited the plot with Michel and Frédéric to see for myself.
Thanks, Claude, for that info. Very interesting.
Ok, so here is a question. Based on the 2007s D’Angervilles being available from Envoyer here locally (for instance, the Champans), realistically, how long would one have to wait before these would be in the right drink window and would an extended decant mitigate some/all of the age effect so I could enjoy one now?
Thanks Robert.