Winemaker Notes
The wines that Louis Boillot makes from his priceless vines are like Burgundy used to be: gentle, subtle, pure, precise and highly nuanced, their complexity and sensuality growing with age. Domaine Louis Boillot Pommard Les Fremiers Premier Cru is typically a more robust offering.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Louis Boillot was among the early pickers in Pommard and it shows in the freshness and balance of this wine, aged without new wood influence. Refined, floral and almost Volnay-like in its red fruit profile and perfume, this has the underlying concentration from 80-year-old vines, polished tannins and a long, elegant finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Pommard 1er Cru Les Fremiers wafts from the glass with an inviting bouquet of cherries, raspberries, blood orange, rose petals and raw cocoa. Medium to full-bodied, textural and concentrated, it's lively and elegant, with ripe tannins and succulent acids.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
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.