2018 Marquis d'Angerville Pommard Combes Dessus

Domaine Marquis d’Angerville is a hillside estate in Volnay, in Burgundy’s Cote de Beaune. The 35-acre domain was one of the first in Burgundy to bottle and market its own wines. Today the estate is run by Guillaume d’Angerville and his brother-in-law Renaud de Villette. The domaine’s most prestigious parcels are the Volnay premier cru Clos des Ducs (which is a monopole), and the premier crus Champans, Les Fremiets, Taille Pieds and Les Caillerets. Also owned are premier cru and village plots in Meursault and Pommard. Burgundy writer Clive Coates has written that “Angerville wines are exemplary; pure, terroir specific, elegant and intense.”

Pommard is a relatively large appellation of 1,655 vineyard acres just a few miles south of Beaune. Though it has no Grands Crus, Pommard’s 28 Premiers Crus are generally well regarded. The appellation produces only red wine, and wine writers often note that despite Pommard’s proximity to both Beaune and Volnay, its wines are very different from the Pinot Noirs produced in neighboring appellations. Robert M. Parker Jr. wrote that “The top Pommards are full-bodied, chunky, muscular, fleshy wines that impress one more for their power and expansive, mouth filling texture than for pure finesse.” The most famous Premiers Crus are Les Epenots and Les Rugiens.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.