2007 Domaine de Courcel Pommard Grand Clos des Epenots 1er Cru

Wood smoke, burley tobacco, and leather on the nose of Courcel's 2007 Pommard Grand Clos des Epenots proceed to accent ripe, lightly-cooked cherry and blackberry on the palate. Like the corresponding 2008, this shows its tannins less flatteringly and more obviously than its stable mates, but there is ample glycerin to help smooth things, with leather and tobacco dominating in a long if only moderately sweetly-fruited finish. I would speculate on cellaring this for 4-6 years, but check it out again periodically for a sense of how the tannins are evolving. In 2007 and 2008, Yves Confuron steadfastly retained his allegiance to late harvest and long fermentation with whole clusters and stems, and was willing to sort and discard fruit ruthlessly to achieve fine results in both vintages. Confuron - voicing an opinion rare among red Burgundy growers - prefers his 2007s for what he considers their nearly ideal balance, and it's hard to fault that description, even if (like me) you're drawn more to the style of 2008s. He also thinks his 2007s will hold that balance for extended bottle aging, though I am skeptical on that count. it's certainly possible that the 2008s will seize up after bottling, but at the time when I tasted them, their refinement of texture gave the lie to the many critics of vendange entier - particularly in a marginally ripe and rot-challenged vintage - who insist that the inclusion of stems in the fermentor can only add undesirable tannin and bitterness. Malolactic conversion in Confuron's young 2008 vintage wines was spread all the way from April to November, but that didn't bother him, since elevage here typically lasts the better part of two full years, and he was planning to spread the bottling between June or early July and September. (The 2007s were not bottled until August and September, 2009.) Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400

Good deep red. Sexy aromas of dark cherry, spices, minerals and underbrush, with a whiff of truffle. Juicy, peppery and aromatic in the mouth, with firm acidity for the year-especially for fruit picked later than most other vineyards in Pommard. This really spreads out to coat the palate on the back end, finishing with dusty, fine-grained tannins and excellent length.

Full and deep and dark and dry – good stuff! Sweet black cherries on the nose. Racy and very lively. Bracing but promising. Very classic Pommard. Needs quite a time but nothing tarty about this. Very long. (JR)