Pommard 2016
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: for indeed, as long ago as the Middle Ages,
the wines of Pommard were being shipped to the Popes of Avignon…
Origin
Between Beaune and Volnay are the vast vineyards of Pommard, extending out on either side of a monumental coomb. This gives rise to two types of wine: from vines grown on the hill on the Beaune side, and from those originating in the slopes and ‘plunging’ down towards Volnay.
This wine is a blend of two opposite plots: 50 % « En brescul », Beaune side and 50% « la Combotte » Volnay side. - « En Brescul » is located up the hill and very steep slope. This funny name, diminutive of "Straighten-ass" refers to the heavily leaned position of the vine growers working in these steep plots.
« la Combotte » : Located below the "Vaumuriens" at the bottom of the hill, this climate presents a hollow relief . The name refers to the combe.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: "En Brescul" is a steeply sloping plot with mostly calcareous soil. "La Combotte" is in the middle of the hillside on fairly clayey soils.
Orientation: East
Surface area under vine: 0.8603 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 41 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 40 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 28 September 2016.
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 completely destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration lasts around three weeks, with more or less frequent cap treading ‘by foot’. Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used).
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 18 months with no racking using a proportion of 35% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a very delicate touch of oak to the wine.
Bottling
Bottling: The wine was not fined but was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in March 2018.
Number of bottles: 4,100.
Vintage
2016 , small is beautiful!
Small volumes, but lovely fruit overall. This is expected to be a great vintage, confirmed by the first tastings in spring. Vintage 2016 offers fine surprises with wines of potentially high quality. White wines have fine fruit aromas, with good body and will be ready to drink while young whereas the red wines are powerful, tender, concentrated and will be ideal for ageing. The harvest was one-third down on average because of the frost that struck the region on 28 April, causing a lot of irreversible damage. This was all the more frustrating as the summer was very hot and sunny, resulting in very dense berries with thick skins, promising concentration and intense wines, but with low yields.
Ageing potential: from 7 to 10 years.
Tasting notes
The color is bright purple with purple hues. The intense nose exudes aromas of blackberries and redcurrants, with hints of violets. On the palate, this gourmet and fresh wine offers fruit on the palate with a structure of finesse. A wine that makes you salivate!
