Tasted at Roberson’s Volnay tasting. Clear hue. The nose is tightly coiled at the moment, but indicating fine mineralite with red cherries, redcurrant and a touch of autumn leaves. The palate is medium-bodied with hard tannins at the moment, quite masculine with a sense of firmness that needs a few years to mellow. Good intensity towards the broody, surly finish. Drink 2015-2025. Tasted May 2010.

The d'Angerville 2006 Volnay Fremiet (for which the spelling used on the label was inadvertently not followed in my issue 171 report) offers a brighter personality – and at the same time, more structure – than does their blended premier cru. Black cherry, cassis, and blood orange in the nose lead to a lusciously juicy yet at the same time firmly tannic and palpable extract-rich palate, on which fruit pit and wet stone note provide contrast. This long-finishing Volnay should gain interest with a few years in the bottle and could well – given the track record here – be fine a decade from now, but at the same time, I don't think harm will be done by enjoying it nearer-term, as I doubt that the fruit will go into remission. Like his illustrious father, Guillaume d’Angerville and estate director (and brother-in-law) Renaud de Villette have beaten the odds with their gentle art of winemaking (inter alia short maceration, no pigeage, promotion of late malo, low levels of new wood) in far more difficult vintages than 2006, so the generally high quality of their recent collection comes as no surprise. They waited until late September, and then brought in their entire crop in only five days. I have not had chance to taste the d'Angerville generic and village wines, nor their Champans it was bottled. Incidentally, this estate continues to routinely give its wines a course plaque filtration. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400

Bright ruby-red. Dark cherry, licorice, leather and a whiff of game on the nose. Sweeter, riper and deeper than the Mitans but a bit more dominated by its structure. In a distinctly rocky style (in fact, there's only a thin layer of soil here), which gives the flavors a drier character. The tannins come off as a bit more rustic on the very firm finish.

Clean, rich and very seductive. Bravo! A hint of cough medicine. So concentrated yet very healthy. This seems a great buy to me…GV (JR)

Lovely fragrant violet-edged cherry fruit. Very smooth, fine and fresh. Great elegance and length. (JH)