Pommard and Pommard Premiers Crus are only made from Pinot Noir grapes.
- The color is dark ruby red.
- The intense nose exudes aromas of fruit such as blackcurrant and blackberry, with some notes of violets.
- On the palate, this supple and elegant wine is supported by silky tannins and flavours that are fruity (very ripe red and black fruits). Very concentrated, powerful, well balanced, a beautiful wine to age.
Drink with fine roasted or oven-grilled meats, prime rib, rump steak with pepper, marinated game or poultry in sauce, not forgetting creamy Burgundy cheeses but not too strong.
Serve at 16-18°C (60-64°F).
This premier cru can be kept in the cellar for 8 to 10 years.
The little village of Pommard is jealously guarded by its vineyards, on the flanks of the slope. The fame of the nectar produced here goes back centuries; indeed, as long ago as the Middle Ages, the wines of Pommard were being shipped to the Popes of Avignon…
Between Beaune and Volnay extends the vast vineyard of Pommard which unfolds on each side of a monumental combe. The plot "Les Arvelets" is located at the exit of this valley on the north slope. Exposed south with a clay-limestone soil rich in iron oxide covered with alluvium and silt, this premier cru is the steepest of the appellation. The Latin roots of the word "arvelet" refer to the presence of old fields, plowing land at this location.
The grapes were handpicked. They were sorted a first time in the vineyard and again on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery. At the winery: the grapes were 100% destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration of 32 days of which 5 days cold (12 ° C): Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used). 4 punchings of the cap. Aging on the lees for 16 months with no racking using a proportion of 35% new French oak barrels.The wine was not fined but was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity.
After a very mild winter, perhaps too mild, this vintage was marked by two contrasting periods. The spring was sunny and milk, with no frost, although there were some localized storms with significant episodes of hail that hit certain plots hard on the Côte de Nuits in June. Then the summer was very dry and very hot, blocking the ripening process in some areas. Harvesting was early and was exceptionally abundant. The wonderfully healthy crop promised great potential for producing highly sophisticated wines.
In Chablis, after a very dry spring and summer, we feared a harvest that would be less good than predicted, due to a lack of juice in the berries. Very high temperatures in August sent acidity right down in the grapes and brought the harvest forward to the end of August. But this early harvest of very abundant fruit allowed us to preserve some good acidity.
On the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune, the harvest began with the Côte de Beaune whites at the end of August, followed by the Pinot Noir in early September on the northern part of the Côte. With the harvest under a radiant sun and heat-wave-level temperatures, the reds offer a rare concentration of polyphenolics. Quantity and quality were the joint order of the day.
Harvesting on the Côte Chalonnaise ran from 27 August to 18 September. Very localized rain had an impact on ripening, which varied from plot to plot. The Chardonnays were harvested first to preserve the lovely acidity of this particularly sunny vintage. The Pinot Noirs with their purple juice already foretold of a rich and powerful vintage.
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