Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A hint of freshness plays on the otherwise closed nose of this wine. Still tightly coiled, the palate presents a balanced picture of elegant firmness. Freshness and fine tannins create the structure upon which the vivid red cherry can shine. This wine is elegant, balanced and most promising. Drink 2025–2035.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Notes of cherries, cassis, smoked meat, rich soils tones and black truffle preface the 2018 Pommard 1er Cru Les Epenots, a medium-bodied, suppler and layered wine that's charming and elegant, its pretty core of fruit framed by powdery tannins and bright acids. This is another wine that has turned out very well.
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.