The d'Angerville 2006 Volnay Taillepieds tastes entirely consistent with the top-notch 2006 performances of this site in other hands. A lovely nose ripe black fruits, walnut oil, dark chocolate, and bitter-sweet floral perfume in the nose put me slightly in mind of a really ripe Cabernet Franc. Palpably dense on the palate – its palate-staining black fruits accented with bitter fruit pit, crushed stone, dark chocolate, and peat – this nonetheless preserves a fine sense of vivacity and lift that carries into a pungently-persistent, chalk-, peat-, and white pepper-dominated finish. This rich yet firmly structure, low-toned yet refreshing Taillepieds promises further complexity and elegance for those who give it a few years of bottle age, and I suspect it will hold well for more than a decade. 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

This is unusually expressive for young Taillepieds, which is often the most reserved wine in the range, featuring a ripe mélange of red and blue pinot fruit plus violet and rose notes that gracefully introduce sweet, dusty and intense flavors brimming with minerality on the focused, racy and vibrant finish. Like the Champans, this is notably austere, which is typical and will require at least a decade to be at its best. Terrific.

Good dark red. Ripe, deep nose offers black raspberry and chocolate. Impressively deep for the year but with lovely cut and vinosity highlighting the wine's layers of flavor. A step up in texture and length over the Mitans and Fremiet. The wine's youthful austerity suggests it will evolve slowly, but the granular tannins are plenty ripe. (The Cailleret was too reduced to assess in November.)