Pommard

Les Noizons lies just below the Premier Cru Pézerolles vineyard. It tends to produce lifted, delicate renditions of Pommard and the 2017 from Domaine Denis Carré is a case in point. The nose majors on crunchy red berry and floral aromas, while the palate is characterised by refreshing acidity and chalky tannins. Let it shine alongside roast game or a simple leek and Gruyère tart. Drink now to 2027.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (December 2019)

This is a sunny, south-facing location which is situated at a relatively high 300 metres’ altitude and subject to cooling winds. These elements combine to give aromas of perfectly ripe red and black cherry fruit intertwined with lifted, floral aromas and sweet spice. Initially fleshy, the palate finishes with fresh, chalky tannins and vivacious acidity. Drink 2021-2027.

A short tour of one of Sébastien Magnien’s vineyards tells all you need to know about his philosophy; each vine is perfectly manicured, with not a leaf out of place.  This attention to detail is reflected in his wines, which are precise, steely and mineral. Sébastien’s choice of picking date is guided by acidity rather than sugar levels, putting the emphasis on freshness. He declared himself very happy with 2017, comparing the white wines to 2014 but with perhaps a touch more flavour ripeness, and praising the accessible, moreish character of the reds.

Marco has more than one barrel of his flagship wine for the first time in several years – four to be precise, allowing a diminution of the new wood percentage  to 25 percent. Famously from vines over 100 years  old and, astonishingly, providing over 40hl/ha this year. The wine oozes with the silky texture of oldvine fruit, and there is 25 percent whole-bunch to complement the vineyard’s iron-rich contribution. Drink 2025-2031.

As he felt that the tannins were riper than in 2016, Marc-Olivier (Marco) looked for greater extraction just at the start of the fermentation but, other than that, there are no major changes. Marco still uses whole-bunch when he feels it can improve the wine’s texture. Harvest started on 5th September and was finished by 15th September. He is another winemaker losing interest in zero-sulphur, feeling that the identity of the terroir can be lost without SO2’s guiding hand.

Always a small cuvée, there are three barrels this  year, against a mere single barrel last year. Stylistically this is also the inverse of 2016; with all the rich fruit  up front rather than the power behind, although  some Pommard structure ties the ends together.  Drink 2022-2028.

Louis began his harvest on 28th August on his earlier Côte de Beaune vineyards and enjoyed bright sunshine throughout the harvest, which ended nine days later. He volunteers that there is less structure than in 2016 but he likes the fruity, gourmand style. This year he looked for freshness and aromatics. “Quatorze degrés n’est pas Pinot,” says Louis (“14 degrees [of alcohol] is not Pinot”). He will bottle earlier, without fining or filtration, as usual. A very pretty range this year, delicious and pure.

Purchased in 2007 in the premium Rugiens-Haut sector, the parcel is almost exactly 0.5 hectares, planted in 1953. This is genuinely impressive, ripe with no sense at all of the loose-limbed character of some 2017 reds from around here. Compact and brooding. Drink 2023-2030.

Faiveley began picking on 2nd September in Meursault, while the first Pinot Noir was harvested in Volnay and Pommard on 4th September. Their red Grands Crus were picked between 9th and 14th September. They compare their reds to 2007 and 2011, although they say the 2017s have a fleshier palate. As previously there has been some considered use of whole bunches in the fermentation for some selected smaller vineyard parcels. For the whites, they consider 2017 to be an outstanding vintage with powerful, rich and intensely aromatic wines.

This wine is a bin-end, discounted by 20%.
With 2016 providing such an accent on the primary fruit, this Pommard presents a sterner and more rugged profile. The vineyard lost half its fruit to frost, reducing the production to just nine barrels. New oak was kept at a third, and the use of whole-bunch reduced to the same proportion. The wine is serious, not as lush as Champans, but it will age well. Drink 2022-2032.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Domaine de Montille was developed by Hubert de Montille (1930-2014), a prominent Dijon lawyer, who inherited 2.5 hectares of vineyards in Volnay in 1947. Over the years he acquired further parcels in Volnay, Pommard and Puligny-Montrachet Les Caillerets. Today the business is run by his son Étienne who has extended the domaine by purchases of vineyards in Beaune, Corton and the Côte de Nuits, including some marvellous Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts. The vineyards are farmed biodynamically and the red wines are increasingly vinified with whole bunches. Following the splendid successes here in 2015, this vintage provides a contrast in style, but with reasons to buy that are just as compelling. Volumes are down in certain appellations and winemaking has been tempered to release more of the vintage’s purity of fruit and definition of terroir. Use of whole bunches for the reds continues, but not by rote, with proportions being adjusted according to each cuvée’s requirements.

Rugiens is arguably Pommard’s greatest vineyard, of which the lower section is perhaps the finest, but Ben’s plot is in the lower part of Rugiens-Hauts and thus very adjacent. This is a big, stern and meaty wine, with dense tannins, but perfume and rigour too. Very serious and age-worthy. Drink 2025-2030.

It is fair to say that Ben is very happy with 2017, describing it as the kind of vintage he would sign up for every year. The whites, he says, are beautiful, and not far from 2014 in style, with purity, finesse, great definition and balance. He describes the reds as pretty, appealing and with body to support ageing, while highlighting the importance of lower-yielding old vines for serious ageing. He eloquently explains that there is no “black sheep” in 2017, that no village has underperformed. For reason of space, the limited volumes of Grands Crus have not been included in this brochure. Since the 2014 vintage, all white wines are bottled under screwcap

Having made Clos des Epeneaux at Comte Armand, Ben had always harboured an ambition to make Pommard’s other great wine, so was delighted to take the opportunity; this comes from a plot in the lower part of Les Rugiens-Hauts. There is a real concentration of fruit here, Grand Cru weight and a wonderfully elegant tannic structure which underlines the class of this site. Drink 2023-2035.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Having created a name for himself as régisseur (general manager) of Comte Armand in Pommard from 1999 until 2013, Benjamin Leroux established a small négociant business based in Beaune in 2007. The emphasis is on Côte de Beaune whites and Côte de Nuits reds. The company also owns a small holding of Bâtard-Montrachet and since 2014 some vineyards in Meursault. In a short space of time Benjamin Leroux’s wines have built an impressive reputation. Ben is a big fan of his 2016s, praising the sizzling tension of the whites and the beautiful quality of the Pinot fruit, which allowed him to use more whole bunches than in 2015. In early stages of élevage he drew comparisons to 2010, and feels these are wines which will surprise people and gain complexity with time. Thanks to his strong relationships with suppliers, Ben was able to maintain production at around 2015 levels despite the frost, although in general he has less Village and Grand Cru wine and more at the Premier Cru level. For reasons of space, the limited volumes of Grands Crus have not been included in this catalogue. Since the 2014 vintage, all white wines are bottled under screwcap.

One third of Les Rugiens undergoes whole-cluster vinification. Medium to deep purple, the nose is laden with ripe, cherry fruit and only a touch of spice. Very appealing, there is a huge wealth of fruit on the palate, spectacular quality and lovely, fine-grained tannins. This shows the nobility of the terroir, with no indications of hail.

Étienne de Montille began picking whites on 10th and reds on 13th September, relatively early. Despite the hail (worst in Pommard than Beaune, Volnay less) yields were slightly improved compared to 2013. The fruit was clean with small berries, and beautiful clusters, so they were able to continue with their usual programme of whole-bunch vinification in most instances. The details are given for each wine. They will be long lived wines.

A fine fresh colour, given its 40 years of age, and a remarkably pretty bouquet with some strawberry notes. There is plenty of density of fruit in the typical Camille Giroud style and an excellent balance between the fruit and the acidity. Pure poised and persistent.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

A rich, dense purple colour, this is magisterial. The nose holds immense possibilities though it may not wish to speak of the detail just yet. This is beautifully homogenous on the palate – a gorgeous, glowing, graceful Epeneaux that just reminds you in the aftertaste that it comes from Pommard. It offers the essence of raspberry but in the sumptuous, red-fruit style of the great vintages of the past. Drink 2024-2040.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Paul Zinetti’s second harvest at the domaine has at least given him a few more grapes to play with than 2014 and fruit of exceptional quality. Nonetheless 2015 was once again a very short crop because of the previous hail damage, delivering just one third of what used to be normal. The grapes were mostly de-stemmed, although some whole bunches were used, but always a minority.

Fine, deep colour with a noticeably reserved, backward nose. Impressive energy on the palate, good fruit weight and unusual depth of flavour. Classy, exceptional long and elegant throughout.
(Jasper Morris MW - Burgundy Buyer - 10-Sept-2009)

This is another tour de force, right from the enticing, rich purple colour onwards. Really exuberant ripe fruit with floral notes are underpinned by a black cherry flavours. A magnificent wine for five to ten years time, although it will certainly last longer than that. Drink 2010-2015

The Grand Vin is a blend of the various sections of Clos des Epeneaux, including a small percentage of the younger vines. This is a really elegant and perfumed Pommard, with a gloriously harmonious bubble of red fruit and heavenly cherries present throughout and before a long and refined finish. This really is quite terrific!
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

As we have come to expect, Benjamin Leroux has produced a brilliant range of wines here in 2010. The Clos des Epeneaux is now one of the most exciting wines in the Côte de Beaune. A result of Benjamin’s refinement of vineyard work and the plan he has adopted of picking and vinifying according to the geology of different parts of the vineyard, rather than vine age.

This blend of the various different cuvées of the Clos is, as ever, even more impressive than its individual parts. The bouquet is very fine, with stylish, vibrant red fruit aromas and lifted notes of spice. Tightly wound yet still with real generosity, this is a great wine in the making. Lay down and try to forget its existence for at least another five years.

The de Montille holding is in the favoured, lower part of this vineyard. Bright pink-purple in colour, with richer, ripe fruit here, delivering a great intensity of dense red flavours. The tannins are prominent, as they should be for Rugiens, but not discordant. This is for the long term.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

This great domaine has grown even further with the acquisition of some vineyards, such as Meursault Perrières, to enhance the white wine range, vinified by Alix de Montille. The reds continue the progress seen in recent years from the team led by Etienne de Montille with the assistance of cellarmaster Brian Sieve. All the top wines are vinified with 100% whole bunches which defines the very perfumed style of the domaine’s wines

Burgundy 2009 Best Buys - Premier Crus Wines
If there was a Grand Cru in Pommard this would undoubtedly be it, and in years like 2009 you could make an argument for it. This is where Ben Leroux really puts his genius to work; the completeness is overwhelming. As in 2005, Ben has crafted something quite magical.
(Joss Fowler, Cellar Plan Account Manager)

A very intense, multi-layered nose reaches down to a profound palate and, although this is evidently very rich in fruit, there is something very stylish about it. There is a vast range of fruit on the palate, even a hint of licorice, leading to an extraordinarily vibrant finish. This may be Benjamin Leroux’s best ever Clos des Epeneaux.
(Jasper Morris MW, BBR Buyer)