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.’
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Nicolas Rossignol
70% of the vineyard is 110 years old and the rest 45 years old. 60% whole bunch. 20–25% new oak. Rossignol is taking mass selection from the old vines – which he had been thinking of pulling up when he took the parcel on in 2013 – when he replants. Rather than pulling them up he changed the posts and nurtured the vineyard. Different-sized berries on the bunch seem to bring complexity – he doesn’t know if it is vine age or the plant material. He thinks this wine sums up his wines.
Deep, rich-fruited. Super-ripe and intense and concentrated but not overripe. Chewy, compact but fine-grained, impressive concentration here but it is fruit not tannins. Tannins are dense, not astringent, firm grip, confident wine with depth and complexity. Big and long. Embryonic and incipient finesse. As you continue tasting the tannins become more fine, more elegant. A wine that gets more elegant as you continue to taste rather than the tannins building. Chalky finesse on the finish.
17.5+ points, JancisRobinson.com (November 2019)
Nico Rossignol uses the 115-year-old vines that make up 70% of his parcel in Les Epenots for massal selections, such is the quality of the plant material. This rich, dense, ageworthy Pommard from one of the village's best sites is spicy, sappy and rich, with 60% whole bunches adding some extra complexity and freshness. 'My Grand Cru,' he says, not without reason.
95 points, Decanter (2018 En primeur tastings - October 2018)
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.
