Assembled in tank and ready for bottling, the d’Angerville 2005 Volnay – from parcels situated well below town – offers ripe but tart aromas and flavors of red currant and cherry with salty, meaty, and subtly floral adjuncts. Hints of game and black pepper add complexity to the finish of this lively, lithe, clear-fruited expression of Volnay. The late Jacques d’Angerville’s son Guillaume and long-time wine making collaborator and brother-in-law Renaud de Villette can boast a superb collection of 2005s, but an equally apt tribute to the legacy of the late Marquis are the odds-beating results they bottled from 2004, when to the universal difficulties of that vintage were added the ravages of hail it visited on Volnay. The 2005s fermented with pump-overs but no punch-downs and exhibit formidable underlying structure yet pure fruit and early, flattering textural development. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400

CS Very positive and confident on the nose. Liqueur like intensity. Round, bursting, swaggering even! Chock-full of ripe fruit with good structure underneath. (JR)