1990 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er Cru

Good full red. Very ripe aromas of plum, black cherry, redcurrant, mocha, licorice, spices, smoke and leather--even a pruney aspect in a positive way. At once silky, fine-grained and juicy; not as roasted or outsized as many 1990 red Burgundies, with its element of almost decadent sweetness nicely countered by strong, almost lemony acidity. Densely packed but also well delineated, and showing more minerality than the 1991. With terrific vinosity to its raspberry and redcurrant fruit and a strong acid/tannin spine, this tastes more like a ten-year-old wine than one that's soon to enter its fourth decade, and it should hold nicely for at least another ten years. Real buns of steel here. (I pulled this wine from my own cellar, as the bottle presented at the tasting at the estate was a bit heavy, dry and tired. Angerville noted at the time that he was not certain of the source for the bottle.) (13.4% alcohol; September 20 harvest; 36 h/h; 3.4 pH)

Harvest 20 September, yield 36 hl/ha, pH 3.40. Two cases bought back by Guillaume at one of the auctions of the Tour d’Argent in Paris who used to buy six cases of each of their premiers crus every year. First bottle a little dodgy. A bit decayed on the palate. Deep ruby almost right out to the rim. There’s a little bit of decay on the second bottle’s palate too. Is this the Tour d’Argent’s fault? Shame. (JR)