Pommard
Les Vaumuriens 2016
The little village of Pommard is jealously guarded by its vineyards, on the flanks of the slope.
The fame of the nectar produced here goes back centuries: for indeed, as long ago as the Middle Ages,
the wines of Pommard were being shipped to the Popes of Avignon…
Origin
Between Beaune and Volnay are the vast vineyards of Pommard, extending out on either side of a monumental coomb. This gives rise to two types of wine: from vines grown on the hill on the Beaune side, and from those originating in the slopes and ‘plunging’ down towards Volnay.
This is the side on which Les Vaumuriens can be found, resting on a mixture of clay and limestone. The soil gives the wine a solid attack in the mouth, and a great elegance at the finish. In old French – and the term is entirely appropriate in this case – ‘Vaumuriens’ describes a narrow, steep-sided valley very high up the hill. The plot is very steep and hilly, and is located in one of the coolest areas of the appellation.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: clay soil rich in iron oxide.
Orientation: East / North-East
Surface area under vine: 0.4338 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 32 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 45 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 27 September 2016.
The grapes were handpicked. They were sorted a first time in the vineyard and again on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery.
At the winery: the grapes were completely destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration lasts around three weeks, with more or less frequent cap treading ‘by foot’. No œnological product of the yeast, enzyme or tannin variety is added, so as not to detract from such a precious terroir.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 18 months with no racking using a proportion of 50% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a very delicate touch of oak to the wine.
Bottling
Bottling: The wine was not fined but was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in March 2018.
Number of bottles: 1,700.
Vintage
2016 , small is beautiful!
Small volumes, but lovely fruit overall. This is expected to be a great vintage, confirmed by the first tastings in spring. Vintage 2016 offers fine surprises with wines of potentially high quality. White wines have fine fruit aromas, with good body and will be ready to drink while young whereas the red wines are powerful, tender, concentrated and will be ideal for ageing. The harvest was one-third down on average because of the frost that struck the region on 28 April, causing a lot of irreversible damage. This was all the more frustrating as the summer was very hot and sunny, resulting in very dense berries with thick skins, promising concentration and intense wines, but with low yields.
Ageing potential: from 7 to 15 years.
Tasting notes
The color is dark ruby red with purple hues. The intense nose exudes aromas of violets, black fruits and spices embellished with smoky and subtly roasted notes. On the palate, this powerful and robust wine reveals a very beautiful acid frame.
