Pommard
Les Vaumuriens 2019
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: 25 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 45 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 20 September 2019.
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 20% destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration with 80% whole bunches of 18 days of which 3 days cold (12 ° C): Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used).Vinification without sulfur. 4 punchings of the cap.
Ageing
Maturation: aged for 8 months with no racking or stirring. 44% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: Oak of French origin toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a subtle, delicate touch of oak were used.
Bottling
Bottling in August 2020, the wine was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity.
Number of bottles: 1,411.
Vintage
A legendary vintages?
According to Grégory Patriat, this second harvest at the Ursulines winery will go down as a legendary vintage just like 1969, 1979, 1999, 2009, and 2019, because the concentration in the wines is very high indeed. Years with drought and low yields are always great vintages in Burgundy. We had some new premier crus come online last year, with three in Chambolle-Musigny, one in Gevrey-Chambertin, and one in Nuits-Saint-Georges; Le Clos des Argillères. Furthermore, we revived our tradition of producing white wines in villages better known for their reds, with a white Fixin.
Ageing potential: 7 years and more.
Tasting notes
The color is ruby red. The nose exhales floral aromas as well as a bouquet of black fruits embellished with some notes of black pepper. On the palate, this very concentrated wine reveals silky tannins and good length.
