2011 Pommard Les Rugiens

Boillot's Pommard Rugiens is one of the more explosive 2011s readers will come across. Intense spice notes meld into black cherries and plums in a full-bodied Burgundy full of personality and character. It is hard to imagine the 2011 will be ready to drink before its tenth birthday, as the wine is tightly wound and far from fully expressive. Licorice, menthol and cloves are some of the notes that inform the huge, structured finish. This is another wine for the cellar.

A brooding, introverted and cool nose of ripe and fresh liqueur of dark berries and wet stone nuances introduces detailed, ultra-intense and powerful large-scaled flavors that are supported by very firm yet relatively fine tannins before culminating in a classy and gorgeously complex finish. There is excellent size and weight and like the Caillerets, this is really very impressive. Tasted: Apr 15, 2013. Drink: 2023+

Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. The Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens ‘11 has a more oaky, broodier nose compared to its peers, slightly reduced, but with attractive tart red cherry and strawberry scents emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy entry, a fine thread of acidity and a crisp acidic bite on the finish that lends tautness and linearity. This is modern in style and very well crafted. Nov 2014, www.robertparker.com