Winemaker Notes
A beautiful garnet color. His nose is complex: blackberry, coffee, pepper. On the palate, the wine is full with aromas of cherries, cherry pit and sappy in the final.
Pair with duck confit, beef "Bourguignon" and mature cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Touches of reduction, creamy richness and black elderberry combine on the subtle nose of this wine, promising dark allure. The palate delivers on the dense, velvety body where freshness is met with creaminess. Tart but ripe black cherry is dusted by dark chocolate in this tight, taut but expressive wine.
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James Suckling
Very pretty strawberry and raspberry aromas with hints of wet earth. Lovely purity of fruit overall. Medium-to full-bodied, with creamy and polished tannins and a flavorful finish. So attractive already. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Pommard 1er Cru Les Epenots wafts from the glass with notions of raspberries, wild blueberries, licorice, rose petals and baking chocolate. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and succulent, with a lively core of fruit and a charming, enveloping profile.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
Maison Louis Latour is one of the most highly-respected négociant-éléveurs in Burgundy. Maison Louis Latour is the producer of some of the finest Burgundian wines but has also pioneered the production of fine wines from outside Burgundy's confines. These wines from the Ardèche and the Côteaux de Verdon are slowly gaining esteem for their unmatchable quality outside Burgundy.
All the grapes from the vineyards owned by the Latour family are vinified and aged in the attractive cuverie of Chateau Corton Grancey in Aloxe-Corton. The winery was the first purpose-built cuverie in France and remains the oldest still functioning. A unique railway system with elevators allows the entire wine-making process to be achieved by the use of gravity. This eliminates the threat of oxidation from unnecessary pumping of the must. Since 1985, Louis Latour has been selling the wines of its own vineyards under the name Domaine Louis Latour.
Louis Latour has been a leader in environmentally responsible winemaking for over 15 years. Louis Latour has had ISO 14001 accreditation for Environmental Management Systems since 2003 and has been part of the European association FARRE since 1998- a group of like-minded companies who seek to develop and promote sustainable methods of agriculture.
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.