2018 Pommard Grands Epenots
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Tasting notes
I was skeptical about the potential of de Courcel's 2018 Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots, but from bottle it's showing very well. Of course, it's a rich, powerful beast of a wine that's typical of the style favored by winemaker Yves Confuron; but despite its tannins' sheer abundance, the ripeness of the vintage has tempered them into something almost resembling youthful charm. Offering up aromas of blackberries, cassis, rose petals, peonies and kirsch, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and muscular, with a ripe, ample core of fruit and an imposing chassis of powdery tannin that nevertheless doesn't impose any back-end asperity. This should be unusually approachable young, and evolve along the lines of de Coucel's successful 2003s. It's labelled at a mere 13.5%, and perhaps that's true.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Cask sample. Deep crimson. Some lift and lots of richness. Then real chew that suggests a fair old extraction regime. Quite hard work at present and one of the few 2018 red burgundies I have tasted with a drying finish. (JR)
The 2018 Pommard Grand Clos des Epenots 1er Cru offers blackcurrant and raspberry pastilles on the well defined bouquet, perhaps showing a little more finesse and better oak integration than the Les Rugiens. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, darker fruit than the Rugiens but more body and better oak integration on the finish. Not bad, but it needs to demonstrate more complexity and finesse.