Château Pommard – 2016

7.7.2019billn

Tasted in Pommard with Emmanuel Sala, 21 May 2019.

Château de Pommard
15, rue Marey Monge
BP 30018 – 21630 Pommard
Tel: +33 3 80 22 12 59
www.chateaudepommard.com

I wanted to taste 2016s not 2017s as the elevage here is long and traditionally with a good depth of oak – so I decided that it was better to wait a year!

2016 is a tiny vintage here due to the frost – not in everywhere, but a majority of the château’s production was affected.

Emmanuel last time on 2016:
“2016 was very complicated. Frost like I’ve never seen in the last 30 years – then mildew came – a great vintage to start on biodynamics eh? Were already bio but didn’t commence with the whole clos to start with. Luckily in the first year of certification, you can make up to 3 traditional treatments, so up to June we chose to do that – but in the end, the bio and biodynamic parcels were not that different – so in 2017 we will change the whole of the Clos to Biodynamics. The wines in barrel seem to have better balance and higher alcohol than our 2015s!”

Of course, you can’t miss all the work that’s been underway and is still happening at the château; The exterior of the second château is done though not the interior but that’s not stopping Michael Baume from being ever-present. The first château – the one seen by the visitors – the work to renovate the roof and the walls has begun, but nothing has been done yet in the house. Then the cuverie will come into focus, with the work starting after the harvest, probably. The most visible part of the work, excepting the ‘hats’ – ie the covers put over the châteaux when working on the roofs – has been the work to refurbish the wall of the clos. That portion next to the road is now done, but there is the rest of the clos to finish too – “It’s not going to be forgotten,” says Emmanuel.

The wines…

The domaine wines are expensive – no question – but provided their clientele are prepared to pay, then the domaine must just make the best wine that they can – and it seems to me that this is the case in both process and results – well done!

2016 Nuits St.Georges
Two parcels – Hautes Prulier and the Champs Lin (hautes), all destemmed, about 6 weeks of maceration.
Medium-plus colour. The nose is a little powdery – a fresh drive and growing floral note – the wine slowly coming into a good, red-fruited focus. Plenty of concentration here but a good intensity of flavour too – the texture and slight bitter chocolate at the end from some oak, but not with any overt flavour from that. Very good

2016 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
More colour here. A bigger, deeper, slightly reductive nose. Much bigger in the mouth – dynamic, intense – needs more air – a carafe – but a weight, a wall of interesting, very tasty dark red fruited flavour. A really excellent finish – a wine that just gets better in the glass.

2016 Maranges 1er Clos des Loyeres
Three different parcels – an old a middle and a young – it’s the middle, a clone, that’s the least interesting, ‘but the assembly works really well’
Plenty of spiced, dark-red fruit. Mouth-filling, saline, complex – really that’s super interesting. Intense, a grain of spiced complexity – I like this very much – excellent!

2016 Pommard Cuvée Vivant
Just some sulfur at the time of bottling – a long cuvaison – 4 different parcels but not all of each!
Medium, medium-plus colour. A nose a little like the Chassagne – big and needs some air – carafe – becoming silkier and more pure with air. Big, supple, full of energy. Excellent intensity of bright, pure flavour. A little frame of tannin – partly from the barrel I think. But a super wine of fine energy and a clarity of intensity. Excellent again – finishing a with a grain of ripe tannin!

2016 Pommard Clos Marey-Monge
‘All the young vines were frosted, is was practically all the finest vines that that avoided the most of the frost, so this year it’s pretty special – but very low yielding…’
Medium, medium-plus colour again. Also needs some air, but less desperately than the last – round, cushioned red berries, almost a dark strawberry in there. Ooh – that’s good – round, mouth-filling, energetic, complex – really a great combination of complexity and beautiful texture – tannin but so fine. A great Pommard, bravo!
2016 Pommard Cuvée Simone
The First year, all biodynamic, only worked by horse and hand.
Clearly a deeper colour. An intense, vibrant nose – that also needs some air, but this is big and inviting. Great shape in the mouth, depth of texture, weight of concentration – a big wine to wait for. But with fine waves of great flavour. More modest finishing energy, but not shorter finishing than the Marey-Monge. Be patient but also great I think!

Les Blancs:
Using cork only, but a little thicker – 25mm not 24:

2016 Bourgogne Chardonnay
Between Puligny and Meursault, from the vines ‘in the bottom.’
The first nose has a touch of reduction and mint-leaf – I’d guess St.Bris! but with aeration that’s almost gone ‘The 15 is the same but not the 17 and 18…’ Nice volume and shape in the mouth. This has energy and concentration- a fine combination. It’s delicious but a bit non-standard – like the nose. More a curiosity despite how tasty it is!

2016 Meursault
3 different suppliers, bought as must.
A toasty nose, some sweetness of fruit behind. Great shape and energy in the mouth – this is delicious and feels great over the palate – I’d like a little less oak – but it’s a delicious hedonistic wine to drink. Bravo!

2016 Chassagne-Montrachet
From Chaumes – not Chaumées!
Much more freshness of aroma – no toast – a little vibrant pineapple. Ooh, a driving intensity here, slowly melting and mouth-watering with flavour. Not a big wine, faintly saline, delicious flavour. Super…

2016 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
Hmm – here’s an invitation – a subtle reduction in the width of agrume aroma – nice! Full, more concentrated, layered flavour – tons of energy – it needs the reduction to fade – actually, there’s not a lot on the palate. Some mineral finishing. Faintly tannic. Very long! The Meursault remains the most delicious though…

2016 Ladoix Les Gréchons
A little extra vibration of interest to this ripe pineapple fruit, almost exotic. Ooh – yes! Fresh, very mineral, great comportment. Great wine – You wouldn’t be complaining much if you initially thought Corton-Charlemagne and later found that you’d only been drinking a Ladoix! Bravo. ‘Ladoix’ has the energy, but the Charlemagne has the concentration’

2016 Corton-Charlemagne
A quieter nose but of good width and fine and inviting purity, slowly suggesting something more floral. A touch of gas – but lots of weight and certainly more impact – to wait longer for but there’s a lovely vibration of energy through the core of this wine. Excellent Charlemagne!

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