Tasted in Pommard with Yves Confuron, 16 November, 2019.
Domaine de Courcel
Place de l’Eglise
21630 Pommard
Tel: +33 3 80 22 10 64
www.domainedecourcel-pommard.fr
More reports for Domaine de Courcel
Yves on 2020:
“2020 – a vintage that was hot. A flowering that went very quickly in warm conditions – the winter was also warm and with no frost, So the soils never got to sleep and the weeds never stopped growing. Spring and summer were dry and the weeds brought a lot of competition for the vines – for water. The dry asks questions – for instance, are we planted too densely for the amount of water that we currently see? It was necessary to wait for the phenolics so we have high degrees – that’s phenolic maturity, many are now searching technical maturities – so sugar and acid levels but with unripe tannins. We had low volumes too – this is economically a problem – and most domaines are buying grapes to make up the shortfall. We started harvesting 7 September after some rain on the 3rd.”
Yves on 2019:
“Also warm and also with a deficit of rain. It was poor weather until June in 2018 – we didn’t have that in 2019. Maturities were blocked because of the lack of water. The 2018s are monsters, almost Californian, or ‘sudiste,’ the 2019s are not quite like that. But you will still find many ‘cut and paste wines’ delivered via instagram – my question is, where is the tannin? Where is the marker of the vintage? I don’t want every year an oaked juice from fruit, I want the markers, the terroir…”
The wines…
Recallibration is required for these wines – such is their depth of flavour and structural attributes. Not to be forgotten, the amount of patience you will require to fully – or at least adequately – enjoy them. Great wines, but with a twenty-year timeline…
Lots of colour. A silky width of darker fruit – but any depth is merely suggested at this stage. Supple, deep, a fine grain to the tannin, plenty of concentration. Modest bitters in the finish. So long, great but baby Bourgogne. You will pay a pretty price for this but it is exceptional Bourgogne.
2019 Pommard Vaumauriens
Next up, this is very floral – roses from the whole clusters. Wide, structural, with depth of flavour, bitters again – wait 5 years, but this is as powerful a Vaumuriens as you will find… So long though…
2019 Pommard Croix Noir
Fine freshness of aroma, floral but not of roses – a certain clarity of aroma here. Really wide, an astringency but virtually no tannic grain. I like the precision here – but patience!
That’s very nice – aromas of rose but also I have the impression of tea too, Chinese tea. Almost easier to assimilate than the last wines, despite more of everything, and that’s because here the structure is more deftly covered by the rest of the extract. The finish is super complex, not so sweet – it is great wine!
Here the nose is different, with more depth, more whole-cluster rose too. There is more here, though I’m even more of a fan of the last. Fuller, more tannic, but again no grain – but this will overwhelm a neophyte – really 5 years minimum in the cellar and my experience says start drinking from 15 – this is a great wine. But I’ve a sneaking extra appreciation for the last today…
A synthesis of the last two? Dried flowers, dried tea – but not your supermarket tea. If I can manifestly falsely use this word – the Rugiens is the most elegant of these wines in form, in flavour but not in complexity – I need another word for that, but for today – bravo is a good enough word – worth a special search…