Tasted in Volnay with Benoît Landanger and Marleen Nicot, 31 January 2022.
Domaine de la Pousse d’Or
8 Rue de la Chapelle
21190 Volnay
Tel: +33 3 80 21 24 03
www.lapoussedor.fr
More reports with Domaine de la Pousse d’Or
On the day of my visit, Benoit’s children had tested covid-positive – he was negative but his wife also wasn’t looking too great. So he stayed at home and we Skyped. Benoit didn’t rate his chances as being very high of escaping the virus! Marleen Nicot took over the tasting duties when Benoit returned to his kids!
Benoît on 2020:
“From the beginning to the end it was a vintage that we liked – because there was no stress! Of course, the quantity we produced wasn’t big but we like the quality. The Côte de Nuits wasn’t as ready as the Côte de Beaune but we will taste those first. We think March bottlings for the Côte de Beaune wines and maybe April for those of the Côte de Nuits. We actually have a bit more volume than in 2019 but it’s still quite a low volume vintage.”
The wines…
Always high-quality wines at this domaine – with a few great wines too. Except when we got to the amphora wines – those were all great and worth a special search!
Pousse bought the Chambolle domaine vines ‘from the harvest 2008’ but were not happy with the work leading up to the harvest and the resulting maturity of the grapes – so sold everything in grapes to the négoce. Their first actual (commercialised) vintage being 2009 – organic from the start at the domaine, biodynamic since 2015. Certified since 2018 for the whole estate…
2020 Chambolle-Musigny
A blend of 7 villages and two 1er cru parcels… Chabiots and Borniques the latter
Pure, red fruit, elegant – that’s very nice. Supple, wide, a certain generous style but never heavy. Nicely finishing.
2020 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Feuselottes
More floral perfumed – that’s a beautifully aromatic wine. More direct, fine freshness and intensity. This is for keeping a little while – lots of finishing concentration. Super wine – but the aromatics are really top.
2020 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Groseilles
Broader, more powerful but with purity and clarity of aroma. Structural again – but an airy cool and volume to the flavours again some structure, this relaxing and fine over the palate – lovely finishing with a faintly dry coating today.
Aug 25th starting in CdB, finishing Tuesday 02 September for 3 days then finished with some Côte de Nuits parcels including their new Gevery 1er Perrières – there will be Charmes-Chambertin and Echézeaux joining in 2021 too – classed as négoce but the domaine do all the work:
2020 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Perrières
A rounder almost creamy, coffee-inflected nose. Supple – fresh, pure – I love the line of this flavour – a little sweet but absolutely delicious.
2020 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Charmes
The nose is vibrant, red-fruited. Supple, cool – growing wider – the fruit, like the nose, has quite some intensity. Good today but needs to calm a little.
Clarity – a beautiful nose. Mouth-filling with shimmering energy, the structure is present but will quickly calm. This is a great wine!
2020 Bonnes-Mares
Vines on the Chambolle side.
A more brooding depth of aroma here – airy-bright, higher tones and extra clarity – that’s really impressive. A blend of width and direction – layers of flavour but still with lots of freshness. Love the finishing intensity – an extra mineral complexity here – really excellent wine – super finishing!
2020 Clos de la Roche
Narrower, a more mineral style to this nose – staying a little compact. Supple again, gorgeous depth to this fruit flavour – direct, a little cordial in style, darker but absolutely delicious.
Côte de Beaune wines:
Round, deep – airy depth of coffee-inflected barrel. Mouth-filling, some generosity to this flavour. It follows quite well a super pair of grand crus – no problem! Bravo!
2020 Volnay 1er Les Caillerets
A small nose but an impressively pure and detailed one of darker fruit. Good width and a sleek style to the flavour and texture. A nice grip of finishing tannin and clarity of flavour – excellent.
2020 Volnay 1er Clos d’Audignac
Named after the owner in the 1800s who planted vines here – François d’Audignac
More open, wider, a hint of reduction. Extra density to this flavour – but never dense. Intense in the finish – long, a wine with a power that shouldn’t be underestimated – impressive, excellent wine…
Hmm – more open again, an almost textured, red-fruited, invitation – that’s super. Extra freshness, energy and width – this has a vibrant character, it has proper structure too. Almost juicy – that’s a great wine!
2020 Clos de 60 Ouvrées
Extra purity and intensity of dark fruit. This washes across the palate – super-wide, juicy again – some similarities to that last – but not all. An intense but quite composed finish – this is super but showing less well than the brilliant Bousse today…
2020 Pommard 1er Les Jarolières
A fine and open, rather elegant red fruit on this nose. A little extra sweetness but a vibrancy to this red fruit flavour – precision too. That’s a very fine Pommard!
2020 Corton Bressandes
A depth and width of aroma – not fully ready. Sinuous, supple, concentrated, layered – supple. A little saline and intense – a bit more time for extra clarity I think.
2020 Corton Clos du Roi
Also a little tight but showing extra purity – and becoming more open and floral with air. Extra mouth-filling but with an airy style – this is open and very attractive wine. Really slowly mouth-watering in the finishing waves of flavour. Very contemplative…
Now for the Amphora wines:
Vinified in one lot – most then to barrels and the rest to these amphoras. This done since 2015 but only this wine in 2015.
Airy and pure – not large-scaled. Clean, direct, layered and very mouth-watering. A very different register to the Cortons and even a bit more intensity in the finish. If the nose opens a bit more – this will be great!
A depth of brooding, exciting aroma – not the precision I’m anticipating but so exciting! Beautiful texture, extra precision can be found here – layered – simply great wine
The nose here is more open and expressive than the barrel version. The texture is so fine again, sweeping, lively yet still elegant. Great wine…
And to finish, les blancs:
Hmm – an instantly rewarding, refreshing nose – fine citrus complexity here – simply lovely. Width, intensity, tension – complexity of perfume. Insinuating flavour. Top wine…
2020 Chevalier-Montrachet
Width but more density. Ooh – that’s gorgeously intense over the palate – perhaps a little sweet but growing in juicy intensity – this is quite a wine – lots of ripeness to the citrus fruit here. Excellent wine…