The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Clos les Angles was previously bottled as a premier cru but when Guillaume bought an additional 0.5-hectare parcel to augment the half hectare already owned, it became worth bottling separately. It has a fragrant bouquet adorned with raspberry, wild strawberry and an intriguing scent of brown sugar in the background that may surface with bottle age. The palate is structured with a touch of tealeaf on the entry. There is a pleasant herbaceous note defining the middle and it possesses a crisp, angular finish. Fine - but the lack of substance suggests this is more for early drinking. Tucked away in the heart of the village of Volnay just behind the church is Domaine Marquis d'Angerville. It was my final appointment of the day, so unfortunately I was unable to stop and admire the grand maison that has remained in the hands of d'Angerville family since 1804. This is an estate that I have followed for over a dozen vintages, including one or two verticals of their premier crus. And yet, I had never visited the winery until now. Perhaps I could have chosen a more opportune vintage. Co-proprietor Guillaume d'Angerville, who owns the estate with Renaud de Vilette, son and son-in-law of the previous marquis Jacques d'Angerville, showed me the forlorn sight of his vacant barrel cellar, relieved of its expected guests by back-to-back seasons plagued by poor flowering and hail damage. I was just waiting for the tumbleweed to bounce across the cellar. Still, Guillaume did have his 2012s to show me. "In 2012 we had a fairly poor spring," he explained. "The number of grapes was small and the flowering was not easy. There was a major hailstorm on June 30, but this was actually preceded by a violent attack of mildew, which unusually had not attacked the leaves, but the berries directly. We came into the harvest thinking what else could go wrong. So we had a lot of sorting to do. And later I have found that the elevage has not gone as smoothly in a half-empty cellar. Maybe it has something to do with the symbiosis between the barrels? Perhaps they react with each other? Perhaps it explains the late malolactics as well. Then again, at the end of the day, the most challenging thing will be how to allocate the crop." One other point that he mentioned was that hail impacted less upon the style of the wines than he expected, for example, they do not seem to suffer hard finishes. As usual, the vinification is very straightforward with around 20% new oak for all the crus (indeed, he returned his barrels to the tonnellerie rather than increasing the ratio.) As with some many growers in this locale, his was a truncated portfolio deprived of some of its feted premier crus. Since 2006, the estate's vineyards have been converted to biodynamics under chef de culture Francois Duvivier, therefore I had to ask the predictable question of whether natural preparations had adequately steeled the vineyard against the constant threat of mildew attack in the early season, but Guillaume explained that the vines put up their own natural defences and he had not encountered much problem in that regard. These were taut, linear wines; almost brittle upon first acquaintance due to the acidity and strictness/linearity of the tannins, but they repaid patience, unfolding in the glass to reveal hidden intensity, locked away deep in the core of these Volnays. At first appearance, I felt that they lacked the depth to merit long-term aging but I suspect they will ultimately prove me wrong. Marquis d'Angerville's wines have fans from afar. In a rare moment of cross-regional exploration, in the pitch black of the courtyard, I bumped into no less than Baptiste Guinaudeau of Chateau Lafleur, arriving for his own barrel tasting. Let's hope Pomerol never suffers a season like Volnay has done in 2012 or 2013 and if he does, well then I am sure Guillaume offered sage advice on how to cope. Importer: Grand Cru Selections, 5 West 19th Street, 3rd Floor, Suite