Game, leather, forest floor and black tea and peat smokiness are prominent in the nose of d’Angerville’s 2008 Volnay Clos Des Ducs in a way not approached by any of its siblings. Similarly, bittersweet, iris-like inner-mouth floral perfume lends a dimension dear to lovers of Volnay that was not in evidence in other d’Angerville 2008s, at least at this stage. These distinctions noted, there is red berry profusion here, too, and a sappy, energetic overall impression, encompassing a gripping finish, and with mineral diversity – chalk, salt, iodine, alkali, and I-don’t-know-what – that helps guarantee that this firmly and finely structured Volnay will remain dazzlingly complex, if handsomely lean, for the next 15 or more years. Guillaume d’Angerville and Renaud de Villette had good reason for their upbeat assessment of 2008 quality given the vintage’s travails, notably July hail that ravaged their Champans and parts of their villages and Bourgogne holdings, as well as touching other sites. The hail came too soon in the season, though, to have ill-effects on the eventual health of the fruit, and the team did not start picking until the 27th of September. With the exception of Clos des Ducs and Taillepieds – bottled the week of my April visit, but showing no ill-effects, au contraire – the 2008s were bottled in early March. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400