2008 Pommard Grands Epenots

Pale/mid crimson. Indistinct, boiled-sweet/hard-candy aroma. Pretty tough tannins. Lots of extraction. Bitter finish. (JR)

Courcel's 2008 Pommard Grand Clos des Epenots unites an almost bitter concentration of fresh blackberry with a red-chalk typical sense of iron filings somehow so vivid that you could imagine fining this Pinot with a magnet. Plumbing the delicious depths of this wine is like tucking into a meld of blood pudding and black fruit compote. Peat, damp earth, and cherry pit accents add further fascination and complexity in a long finish. This is the most overtly, firmly tannic of the present collection, but its concomitant complexity and overall concentration lead me to anticipate that a dozen or more years of cellaring will prove rewarding. In 2007 and 2008, Yves Confuron steadfastly retained his allegiance to late harvest and long fermentation with whole clusters and stems, and was willing to sort and discard fruit ruthlessly to achieve fine results in both vintages. Confuron - voicing an opinion rare among red Burgundy growers - prefers his 2007s for what he considers their nearly ideal balance, and it's hard to fault that description, even if (like me) you're drawn more to the style of 2008s. He also thinks his 2007s will hold that balance for extended bottle aging, though I am skeptical on that count. it's certainly possible that the 2008s will seize up after bottling, but at the time when I tasted them, their refinement of texture gave the lie to the many critics of vendange entier - particularly in a marginally ripe and rot-challenged vintage - who insist that the inclusion of stems in the fermentor can only add undesirable tannin and bitterness. Malolactic conversion in Confuron's young 2008 vintage wines was spread all the way from April to November, but that didn't bother him, since elevage here typically lasts the better part of two full years, and he was planning to spread the bottling between June or early July and September. (The 2007s were not bottled until August and September, 2009.) Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400

Sweet and subtle and gentle and welcoming. Lots of fruit and charm here. Though quite a bit of tough oak tannins on the finish. Wait. Also tasted 8 Jan 2010. Score 16.5. Drink 2012-17: Rich bright cherry flavours with very flattering fruit. Easier to taste at this stage than the Comte Armand though maybe not as pure. Open and easy. (JR)