2022 Comte du Armand Pommard 1er Clos des Epeneaux
Every Burgundy collector I have ever come across always has a handful of wines they look for every year, as they usually invoke some memory of a great bottle drank at some point. I’ve had a number of different vintages of Clos des Epeneaux and many were truly memorable bottles. With a little patience, this year offers another one of those memory-making wines.
The Clos des Epeneaux estate’s history dates back to the French Revolution, but over the past 40 years we have seen its reputation grow as one of the reference point wines from the Cote de Beaune. A number of very talented winemakers got their start while tending to the 5.3 hectare Clos located mostly within Grands Epenots: Pascal Marchand from 1985-1998, Benjamin Leroux in charge 1999-2014, and since the 2014 vintage Paul Zinetti has led (joining in 2010).
It's been a few years since I have visited the Domaine, but I do remember Ben Leroux telling me about the different sections of the vineyard and how they ripened at different times. As we tasted the different barrels each offered something different. There is a high percentage of old vines in the clos, some approaching 100 years old, which really gives this wine its character.
Most of the fruit is destemmed with a rather low use of new barrels (30%). I have not yet tasted the 2022 but based on some of the other wines I tasted from the vintage this is going to offer ample fruit but with a much more polished edge than some of the other recent warm vintages. It is a wine that will require some patience but has all the makings of a spectacular Clos des Epeneaux!
