Winemaker Notes
This 1er Cru comes from the sole parcel of 3,6 ha that adjoins Beaune and produces the wines that are long and juicy, with grand finesse and beautiful length.
This wine has magnificent color and red berry aromas. One should keep this wine for several years in the cellars so that it could be enjoyed at its best.
Try pairing with roasted partridge and chestnuts, veal shrank with carrots and cardamom confit
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epenots comes from the 3.2-hectares of vineyard, since separated into two cuvées according to vine age and matured in 35% new oak. It has a perfumed, quite floral bouquet with blackberry, black plum, quite confit-like with fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin, well-integrated oak, well balanced with a dense, slightly sinewy, sappy finish that suggests it will require 3-4 years in bottle to mellow. The substance here suggests that it should age with style, although for a Pommard it does seem lithe and approachable.
Range: 91-93 -
Wine Enthusiast
Properly bold and tannic, this is a concentrated wine. The rich fruits and powerful tannins will allow this generous wine to age. Black fruits, intense acidity and dark tannin mean it will take time. Drink from 2024.
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Wine Spectator
This is harmonious and full of cherry, raspberry, earth and spice flavors, framed by vanilla and toasty oak notes. Shows density, with muscular tannins indicating that patience is required. Fine length. Best from 2022 through 2042.
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.