2012 Pommard Les Croix Noires

Black cherry and mocha on the nose. Tightly wound and youthfully imploded, with a distinctly crunchy quality to its cherry and mineral flavors. Hints of iron and rust add interest. Late-arriving tannins bring good energy to this wine.

The 2012 Pommard 1er Cru Croix Noires has a feminine, quite elegant bouquet with scents of raspberry preserve, redcurrant jus and light mushroom scents. The palate is sweet and composed on the entry. There is a noticeable saline element to this Pommard that shows rigidity and structure towards the slightly clipped finish. Located behind the church in central Pommard, Domaine de Courcel is managed by Yves Confuron, who can otherwise be found in Vosne chez Confuron-Contetidot. The domaine has actually been owned by Gilles Courcel since 1976 although his day-job is over running the negociant Chanson where somewhat confusingly, Yves’ brother Jean-Jacques is head winemaker. The harvest here commenced on 13 September and as you might guess, the problematic growing season devastated yields that were down to just 7 hectoliters per hectare. Yves has clearly done the best he can. As a proponent for late harvesting and whole cluster ferments, these wines seemed to strive for quality and yet the tannic structure seemed to oppress the fruit at the time of my tasting. And there was a part of me that wondered whether less stem addition might have been preferable? This all might be because it was a particularly chilly Saturday morning and so I will seek to re-taste them at a later stage. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400 and through several merchants in the UK.