Pommard

Beware of preconceived notions! The fame of Pommard in the 19th century earned it the image of a wine that is both forceful and virile. In reality, time, terroir and methods of vinification have all combined to create a more subtle reality, a wine that is both richer and more sensitive. Its colour is the deep, dark red with mauve highlights which caused Victor Hugo to speak of it as “night in combat with day”. Its aromas are redolent of blackberry, bilberry, or gooseberry, cherry pit and ripe plum. Often, wild and feline notes develop with age. At full maturity, it tends towards leather, chocolate and pepper.

It needs to be given time to open up to its fullest extent and to display its mouth-filling texture, its firm but delicate structure, its fruit-filled mouth, and its chewy tannins, which by then will be properly smoothed down. A “rich” wine? Certainly.