Domaine Marquis d'Angerville

The Clos des Ducs vineyard that anchors the estate today was recorded in a 1507 royal inventory as a former possession of the Dukes of Burgundy, which is how it got its name. Baron du Mesnil, sub-prefect of Autun, acquired the domaine of the Clos des Ducs at Volnay in 1804. The property passed to his son, Eugene du Mesnil, in the second half of the nineteenth century. Eugene du Mesnil had no direct heir, and in 1888 he willed the domaine to his nephew and godson, Sem, Marquis d'Angerville, who was then 15 years old and a student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris with no prior plan to enter winemaking. Sem took possession of the estate roughly two decades later, after the phylloxera crisis, and from 1906 replanted the entire vineyard.

• 1507: a royal inventory records Clos des Ducs as a former possession of the Dukes of Burgundy, the source of its name
• 1804: Baron du Mesnil, sub-prefect of Autun, acquires the domaine at Volnay
• The estate passes to Baron du Mesnil's son, Eugene du Mesnil, later in the 19th century
• 1888: Eugene du Mesnil, without a direct heir, wills the domaine to his nephew and godson Sem, Marquis d'Angerville, then age 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 era, accusing merchants of fraudulent blending, and took them to court over it. When negociants stopped buying his wine in response, he had little choice but to bottle and sell his own production directly, becoming one of the first Burgundy producers to bottle at the domaine rather than through merchants. Wine merchants today group Sem with Henri Gouges of Nuits-Saint-Georges and Armand Rousseau of Gevrey-Chambertin among the pioneers of that shift toward domaine bottling. Sem's pursuit of authenticity also led him into Burgundy's wider institutional life: he was a founding member, alongside Baron Le Roy, of the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO). In 1935 the era's wine syndicate tasked Sem and Henri Gouges with writing the hierarchy of Burgundy's crus and climats; their classification remains, with only rare exceptions, in force today.

• Sem opposed negociant fraud and took merchants to court; when they stopped buying his wine, he began bottling and selling directly
• One of the first Burgundy producers to bottle wine at the domaine rather than through negociants
• Wine merchants group Sem with Henri Gouges (Nuits-Saint-Georges) and Armand Rousseau (Gevrey-Chambertin) among Burgundy's domaine-bottling pioneers
• Founding member, alongside Baron Le Roy, of the INAO
• 1935: the local wine syndicate tasked Sem and Henri Gouges with drafting the hierarchy of Burgundy's crus and climats, still largely in force today

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

• Jacques d'Angerville joined the domaine in 1950 at age 23 at his father Sem's request; succeeded Sem in 1952 and led the estate for 52 vintages
• Jacques served as 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 July 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 serves as chef de culture

The domaine farms about 16.5 hectares, concentrated in the commune of Volnay, on marly-limestone scree soils facing southeast. Of that total, 11.5 hectares are Volnay Premier Cru, including the monopole Clos des Ducs (2.15 hectares) along with 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, recognized in the early 1950s, produced 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 converted the domaine to biodynamic viticulture starting in 2006, inspired in part by Anne-Claude Leflaive, and completed the conversion in 2009. Harvest is entirely manual; grapes are sorted, fully destemmed and given a brief cold pre-fermentation maceration before fermenting on natural yeasts, with fermentation running about 15 to 18 days and temperatures controlled up to 30 to 32 degrees Celsius at the end. Extraction is gentle, using pumping over. The wine is gravity-fed into oak barrels for an elevage of about 18 months, with new oak averaging around 20 percent for the Volnay Premier Crus. The domaine has kept traditional cork closures.

• Pinot d'Angerville clone: 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, full destemming, brief cold pre-fermentation maceration, natural-yeast fermentation of about 15-18 days up to 30-32C
• Gentle extraction by pumping over; gravity-fed to oak; elevage of about 18 months with roughly 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 Guillaume was won over by a blind-tasted Arbois Chardonnay. The two brought in geologist Yves Herody to help identify sites. Domaine du Pelican was built up in stages through three property acquisitions, the last being the vineyards of the late Jacques Puffeney, entrusted to the domaine in 2015. Domaine du Pelican now farms 15 hectares in Arbois, working the Jura's five grape varieties: Trousseau, Poulsard and Pinot Noir for red wines, and Savagnin and Chardonnay for white.

• 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 Jura vineyard sites
• Built through three property acquisitions; the last was the vineyards of Jacques Puffeney, entrusted to the domaine in 2015
• Domaine du Pelican now farms 15 hectares in the Arbois appellation
• Works 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 2026-09-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.