Pommard 1er cru Les Rugiens
2021
Domaine de Courcel has been in the hands of the de Courcel family since the 16th century, its 9 hectares situated entirely within the commune of Pommard and comprising some of its finest premier cru sites. For four centuries, the estate has focused on producing wines typical of the Pommard appellation, wines of supreme structure and great finesse. In 1996, Gilles de Courcel decided to appoint Yves Confuron from Domaine Confuron-Cotetidot in Vosne Romanée as winemaker, not in any way to alter...
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If you don’t like Pommard that tastes like traditional, come-back-in-a-decade Pommard,
then you won’t appreciate this. Sourced from an old vine, 1.6-hectare parcel on rich, red clay soils and fermented with all its stems, it’s a tannic, even slightly forbidding wine that puckers the roof of your mouth right now. But be patient! This will turn into something remarkable in another decade or more.
This classic Pommard has deep plum and cassis fruit aromas scented with tobacco, cedar, and spice. The texture is massive, with abundant extract, firm tannins, and fresh acidity. The grapes come from just over a hectare at mid-slope, where the soil transitions from white marl to deeper clay soils. They are fermented as whole clusters with vigorous punching down and will age eventually for nearly two years in cask. This will take several years to open fully, but it will be magnificent in time, and should live for decades, even in the 2021 vintage.
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Big, bold, ferrous and rich, this is true to the domaine's aim to produce serious, slightly forbidding wines that take a long time to soften in bottle. Blood, iron and a butcher's shop full of guts and fresh meat, this needs a decade but will reward your patience.
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Good ruby-red. A distinctly different expression of Pommard from the Grand Clos des Epenots, with the nose dominated by darkest berries, minerals and chocolate. Densely packed and highly concentrated but less open to inspection than the Grand Clos des Epenots; very closed in on itself but already suggests outstanding complexity. Very broad, firm tannins saturate the entire palate and the very long, rising finish leaves the tongue glistening. Classic white-soil Rugiens: already complex on the nose but in need of cellaring to gain in pliancy and expand.
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There's plenty of black cherry, black currant and violet aromas and flavors in this red, along with a backbone of assertive, dusty tannins. All the elements are in the correct proportion, but just need time to integrate. The long aftertaste also indicates potential.
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Tightly wound and linear, with sandalwood, sweet spice and cedar notes accenting the cherry and strawberry flavors. Complex and dense, but will need time to unwind. Excellent length.
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...This too is nothing short of massively concentrated, ripe and sumptuously opulent with a subtle minerality that helps to add lift to the borderline thick and ever-so-slightly warm finish. This too is most impressive in its fashion though to call it particular would be an understatement.
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This is also quite ripe yet the altitude of Rugiens is
in evidence with its cooler and airier aromas of red berry liqueur, kirsch and a plenitude of floral elements. There is again excellent
volume and mid-palate density to the notably more mineral-driven and tautly muscular flavors that also coat the palate with dry
extract on the impressively long, compact and very firm finish where touches of warmth and mocha appear.
(from a 1.07 ha parcel in Rugiens-Hauts). This is aromatically similar to the Epenots though the fruit is perhaps just a bit cooler. The more mineral-driven and precise flavors flash focused power on the muscular, sappy and balanced finish that goes on and on. This too possesses excellent delineation and is a wine that is sufficiently compact to require every bit of a decade to become more approachable. In a word, impressive. (92-95)/2033+
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Good bright red. Complex, ripe aromas of raspberry, cherry, iron, minerals, spices, pepper and truffley underbrush. The sweetest, supplest and most refined of these 2011s, offering lovely harmonious acidity to its red fruit, red licorice and mineral flavors. Really coats the mouth and vibrates on the long, firmly tannic finish, which features a late burst of ripe but lively red fruits. Winemaker Yves Confuron says the 2011s here have similar precision to the 2010s but more middle, although he believes that the wines have shut down following the September 2013 bottling.
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There is really lovely complexity to the cool, restrained and elegant aromas of ripe red and blue pinot fruit and wet stone nuances that enjoy added refinement from the presence of dried floral elements. There is a suave, round and sophisticated mouth feel to the intensely mineral-driven flavors that are shaped by firm and dense yet fine-grained tannins, all wrapped in a mocha-inflected finish. This is an unusually ripe 2011.
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