Domaine Marquis d'Angerville

Clos des Ducs, the vineyard at the heart of the estate, was a possession of the Dukes of Burgundy and kept their name. A 1507 royal inventory of the dukes' former Volnay holdings records its vines as Sous Roiches. Baron du Mesnil, sub-prefect of Autun, acquired the Clos des Ducs domaine at Volnay in 1804. In the second half of the nineteenth century it belonged to his son, Eugene du Mesnil. Without a direct heir, Eugene willed the domaine in 1888 to his nephew and godson, Sem, Marquis d'Angerville, then 15. Sem took possession roughly two decades later, after the phylloxera crisis; a student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he had not planned to enter winemaking. From 1906 he replanted the entire vineyard.

• 1507: a royal inventory of the former Volnay holdings of the Dukes of Burgundy records the Clos des Ducs vines as Sous Roiches; the vineyard kept its ducal name
• 1804: Baron du Mesnil, sub-prefect of Autun, acquires the domaine at Volnay
• Second half of the 19th century: the domaine belongs to the Baron's son, Eugene du Mesnil
• 1888: Eugene du Mesnil, without a direct heir, wills the domaine to his nephew and godson Sem, Marquis d'Angerville, then 15
• Sem takes possession about two decades later and replants the estate from 1906 after phylloxera

Sem d'Angerville opposed the negociant trade of his day, accused merchants of fraud and took them to court; his estate bottling was a reaction against negociant blending. When negociants stopped buying his wine, he had to bottle and sell his own production, becoming one of the first Burgundy producers to bottle at the domaine. Vinfolio places him with Henri Gouges and Rousseau among the pioneers of that shift. The same drive for authenticity made him a founding member, alongside Baron Le Roy, of the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO). In 1935 the wine syndicate of the day charged Sem and Henri Gouges of Nuits-Saint-Georges with writing the hierarchy of Burgundy's crus and climats; with rare exceptions, their classification remains in force today.

• Sem sued merchants he accused of fraud; when they stopped buying his wine, he began bottling and selling directly
• One of the first Burgundy producers to bottle at the domaine rather than through negociants
• Vinfolio names Sem, Henri Gouges and Rousseau among Burgundy's estate-bottling pioneers
• Founding member, alongside Baron Le Roy, of the INAO
• 1935: the wine syndicate of the day charged Sem and Henri Gouges with drafting the hierarchy of Burgundy's crus and climats, still largely in force

Jacques d'Angerville joined the domaine in 1950, aged 23, at his father Sem's request, having begun preparing for business school in Paris. He succeeded Sem in 1952, led the estate for 52 vintages and built its reputation as an ambassador for Volnay. He was active in Burgundy's professional bodies: president of the Comite Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (predecessor to the BIVB) from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1985, and founding president of the Institut Universitaire de la Vigne et du Vin in Dijon in 1993. Jacques d'Angerville died in 2003. Guillaume d'Angerville, the sixth generation, then took over after a career in finance, assisted in his early years by his brother-in-law Renaud de Villette, an agronomist who had worked alongside Jacques for fifteen years. Francois Duvivier, a Dijon-trained oenologist, joined in 2005 and serves as regisseur, responsible for viticulture, vinification and elevage, with Pierre Clair as chef de culture.

• Jacques d'Angerville joined in 1950, aged 23, at his father Sem's request; succeeded Sem in 1952 and led the estate for 52 vintages
• Jacques was president of the Comite Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (1979-1981, 1983-1985) and founding president of the Institut Universitaire de la Vigne et du Vin in Dijon (1993)
• Jacques d'Angerville died in 2003
• Guillaume d'Angerville, sixth generation, took over in 2003 after a career in finance; assisted early on by brother-in-law Renaud de Villette
• Francois Duvivier joined as regisseur in 2005, overseeing viticulture, vinification and elevage; Pierre Clair is chef de culture

The domaine farms about 16.5 hectares, concentrated in the commune of Volnay on southeast-facing marly-limestone scree. Of that, 11.5 hectares are Volnay Premier Cru: the Clos des Ducs monopole (2.15 hectares) plus parcels in Caillerets, Champans, Clos des Angles, Fremiet, Mitans, Pitures and Taillepieds. The domaine also holds half a hectare of Volnay village land (Grandchamps and Pluchots), one hectare of Meursault Premier Cru Meursault-Santenots, 0.4 hectares of Pommard Premier Cru Combes-Dessus, and 3.2 hectares of regional Bourgogne appellations (Rouge, Blanc, Passetoutgrain and Aligote).

• About 16.5 hectares total around Volnay, on southeast-facing marly-limestone scree soils
• 11.5 hectares Volnay Premier Cru: Clos des Ducs monopole (2.15 ha) plus Caillerets, Champans, Clos des Angles, Fremiet, Mitans, Pitures and Taillepieds
• Half a hectare of Volnay village land (Grandchamps, Pluchots)
• One hectare Meursault Premier Cru Meursault-Santenots; 0.4 hectares Pommard Premier Cru Combes-Dessus
• 3.2 hectares regional Bourgogne appellations: Rouge, Blanc, Passetoutgrain, Aligote

Selection work by Sem and Jacques d'Angerville led, in the early 1950s, to recognition of a particularly fine, low-yielding Pinot Noir strain known as the Pinot d'Angerville clone, still used across the domaine's vineyards. Guillaume d'Angerville, inspired by Anne-Claude Leflaive, began the conversion to biodynamic viticulture in 2006 and completed it in 2009. Harvest is entirely manual; the fruit is sorted, fully destemmed and given a short cold pre-fermentation maceration before fermenting on natural yeasts. Vatting runs about 15 to 18 days, with temperatures rising gradually to no more than 30 to 32 degrees Celsius at the end of fermentation. Extraction is gentle, by pumping over. The wine goes by gravity into oak barrels for about 18 months, with new oak averaging 20 percent for the Volnay Premier Crus. The domaine has kept traditional cork closures.

• Pinot d'Angerville clone: a fine, low-yielding Pinot Noir strain selected by Sem and Jacques d'Angerville, recognized in the early 1950s, still used across the vineyards
• Biodynamic conversion started 2006 (inspired by Anne-Claude Leflaive), completed 2009
• Manual harvest, sorting, full destemming, short cold pre-fermentation maceration, natural-yeast fermentation; vatting of about 15-18 days, peaking at 30-32C
• Gentle extraction by pumping over; gravity-fed to oak; elevage of about 18 months with about 20 percent new oak for the Volnay Premier Crus
• Traditional cork closures

In 2012 Guillaume d'Angerville founded Domaine du Pelican in Montigny-les-Arsures, in the Jura's Arbois appellation, with Francois Duvivier, the Volnay estate's regisseur, after a blind-tasted Arbois Chardonnay won him over. Geologist Yves Herody helped them identify sites. Domaine du Pelican grew in stages through three property acquisitions, the last being the vineyards of Jacques Puffeney, entrusted to the domaine in 2015. It now farms 15 hectares in Arbois across the Jura's five grape varieties: Trousseau, Poulsard and Pinot Noir for reds, Savagnin and Chardonnay for whites.

• 2012: Guillaume d'Angerville founds Domaine du Pelican in Montigny-les-Arsures with Francois Duvivier, after a blind-tasted Arbois Chardonnay won him over
• Geologist Yves Herody helped identify the Jura sites
• Built through three property acquisitions; the last was the vineyards of Jacques Puffeney, entrusted to the domaine in 2015
• Farms 15 hectares in the Arbois appellation
• Grows the five Jura grape varieties: Trousseau, Poulsard, Pinot Noir (red), Savagnin, Chardonnay (white)

Primary sources (producer's own sites): https://www.domainedangerville.fr/, https://www.domainedangerville.fr/notre-histoire/, https://www.domainedangerville.fr/notre-philosophie/, https://www.domainedangerville.fr/nos-vins-new/, http://www.domainedupelican.fr. Secondary source: Vinfolio producer profile. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.