2017 Pommard, Clos des Epeneaux, 1er Cru, Comte Armand, Burgundy

As usual, older and younger vines are harvested and vinified separately. Tasted apart, the junior wine is lush and driven by red fruit; the senior partner principally shows the density of old vines. Essayed in a 55-45 young-to-old-vine blend, the dark, sweet fruit of the old vines is to the fore but kept mobile by the energy of the young vines—an awe-inspiring double act.

Paul Zinetti was realistic yet confident in the quality of his 2017s. Such an early harvest, which started in Volnay Frémiets on 3rd September and ended in Auxey on 11th September, provided new challenges which Paul addressed creatively and sympathetically. The wines were fruity and direct, but he found that colour and structure were slow, so he kept the wine on skins for a week or more after fermentation.

There is less whole-bunch this year as the stems weren’t always fully ripe, but his de-stemmer preserves a lot of whole berries anyway. He will bottle all the reds before Christmas without filtration, but he will try some fining to round out the tannins.

Drink 2025 - 2033

Berry Bros. & Rudd