Vincent Girardin Pommard Les Epenots Premier Cru 2016
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Winemaker Notes
The Pommard 1er Cru "Les Grands Epenots” wine has a dark red color with intense aromas of blackcurrant. Taste dominated by astringency thanks to well-marked acidity and a mellowness that only appears after a minimum of maturation. Elegant wine with notes of small red berries. The palate is opulent and complex.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Solid and saturated, with black cherry, plum, earth and iron flavors. An ample concentration of fruit stands up to the dense tannins, finishing long. Best from 2022 through 2040.
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Wine Enthusiast
The typical Pommard tannins lurk behind the considerable fruitiness of this wine, but they offer a firm backbone for aging. The black fruits and mineral texture are powerful in this solid wine that will need time. Drink from 2024.
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Wine & Spirits
There’s generous berry-scented fruit at the center of this wine, its cool, saturated blueberry and ripe-raspberry notes surrounded by the woody-green-herb tones of stem tannins, which hold it in restraints. This is concentrated and needs five years or more to fully show its potential.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Pommard 1er Cru Les Epenots unfurls in the glass with aromas of dark cherries, cassis, loamy soil, woodsmoke and a subtle hint of dried herbs. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with bright acids and youthfully chewy tannins that assert themselves on the finish. This is a nicely balanced Epenots that will demand a bit of bottle age. Rating: 90+
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Robert
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Robert
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The history of Maison Vincent Girardin is relatively recent. In 1980, at the age of 19, Vincent Girardin, the son of a family of winegrowers based in Santenay since the 17th century, decided to strike out on his own and began producing wine from five acres of vines that he had inherited from his parents. From his earliest youth, Vincent had a passion for working with vines and great respect for the potential that they represent, and his ambition was to produce his own wine. The quality of his wines was quickly recognized by connoisseurs all over the world, and this enabled him to expand his activity, focusing primarily on the great white and red wines of the Côte de Beaune. To cope with the growing demand for his wines, he developed an approach that was new in Burgundy: he purchased grapes from producers who shared the same philosophy and the same high standards. In 2012, Vincent Girardin sold his operation to a long-standing partner of the Maison. Jean-Pierre Nié, President of the Compagnie des Vins d’Autrefois in Beaune, naturally decided to continue with the small team of nine people that had been faithful to the Maison for many years. Today, Eric Germain continues to uphold the style of the wines, and Marco Caschera markets them all over the world.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Representing some of the darkest, deepest and sturdiest Pinot Noir of Burgundy, Pommard is one of the two villages in Côte de Beaune—along with Volnay—that is recognized for its impressive Pinot Noir. While it can’t boast any Grands Crus vineyards, its extraordinary Premiers Crus vineyards are aplenty.
Les Pézerolles, Les Épenots, Clos des Épeneaux, Les Chanlins, Les Jarolières, Les Fremiers and particularly Les Rugiens are among the most outstanding Premiers Crus.
The best Pommards will be concentrated in flavors such as black cherry, blackberry and dark chocolate, have dazzling aromas of violets, menthol or wild herbs and a firm and powerful finish. They typically demand some time in the bottle to reach their peak.