Domaine Nicolas Rossignol Les Épenots 1er Cru Pommard
Located at the foot of the hill of Pommard in the Petits Épenots, on the Beaune side. The light reddish soil is laden with stones and offers good drainage to allow the grapes to reach their maturity. The wine is typically rich and powerful, full of intense flavours of wild black fruits with classically structured Pommard tannins.
'‘I don't have any Grand Cru's but if I did, this would be it.’
'
Nicolas Rossignol
The 2017 Pommard Les Epenots 1er Cru comes from 112-year-old vines and is made with 60% whole clusters. (Rossignol has started a sélection massale program from this parcel.) The focused, sophisticated bouquet offers superb mineralité and a palpable sense of energy. The medium-bodied palate delivers silky-smooth tannin, wonderful acidity and a mélange of red and black fruit laced with sage, white pepper and a touch of clove. This is a stunning Pommard from Nicolas Rossignol.
93-95 points, Neal Martin, Vinous, January 2019.
Always one of Rossignol's best bottlings, the 2017 Pommard 1er Cru Les Epenots unfurls in the glass with a complex bouquet of orange rind, cherries, cassis, dried flowers, rose petals and spices. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and concentrated, with lovely depth and dimension at the core, framed by fine-grained tannins. There's less fleshy fruit that in the stunning 2016 and 2015 renditions, but this has everything it needs to develop beautifully in bottle.
92-94 points, William Kelley, Wine Advocate, January 2019.
Pale crimson. Light nose. A little austere at the moment but the fruit is fresh enough and has clearly been groomed for a long life. Very resonant and pretty impressive!
17 points, Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com, January 2019.
One of the most famous appellations in the region, Pommard is known for producing full-bodied, robust and tannic wines. The second biggest area by production after Beaune, approximatly 135 ha of vineyard area is Premier Cru of which Les Epenots and Les Rugiens are the most renowned.
The clay-heavy limestone of this zone gives unusual wines: they have a deep, red-black color and an explosive bouquet of blackcurrants, musk and game meat (hare). The palate is dominated by astringent tannins and highlighted by bright acidity, but the mouthfeel softens with age. These firm wines are amoung burgundy's most tannic and robust.
