Sarah Marsh MW
POMMARD
DOMAINE DU COMTE ARMAND Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru
Text-book Auxey-Duresses red. This has such a pure fruit aroma, and on the palate is juicy, bright, crisp, and crunchy. There is a bitter morello-cherry snap to the finish. Tip-top Auxey. 2204–28. | 88–89
Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux
Dark and spicy, with licorice and earthy characters. It’s sinewy and the mid-palate is dense. There is muscular grip. The finish is firm and quite long, with savory notes of tar and leather. Burly intensity. 2028–35. | 94
DOMAINE COSTE-CAUMARTIN White
Beaune Premier Cru Les Chouacheux
Soft and succulent on the attack, lightly greengage fruit combining with slight spice and savory stoniness. Stretches out quite well on the finish, with dry, chalky sapidity. I like the mildly tacky texture to finish. It’s subtle, light, and sappy. 2024–27. | 90
Red Beaune Premier Cru Les Vignes Franches
Light, red-cherry aroma. Splashing attack. Juicy and generous, with a nice, plump mid-palate. Lots upfront, with plenty to like. There are soft tannins and an attractive morello-cherry follow-through. A very captivating Beaune here this year. 2024–28. | 92
Pommard Le Clos des Boucherottes
Light redcurrant and herbal nose. Fresh on the attack. Quite sweet and juicy, with smooth texture upfront, while the tannins come in fine and lightly crunchy. Sprightly energy and a greener, slightly sappy finish. Lively and attractive Pommard. 2024–28. | 91–92
Pommard La Rue au Port
From a lower lieu-dit on clay. Sturdy, full, and spicy aroma. Notes of sweet sandalwood. Soft and juicy on the attack. Lightly plump and succulent, with a firm thread of freshness that carries the finish. This is a good village Pommard, well-balanced, with decent intensity and supple tannins. Good job. 2024–30. | 88–89
Pommard Les Vignots Red
Pretty, red-berry aroma. Lightly rounded, fruity, and softly textured upfront. Light and easy-going on the mid-palate. Very well-balanced, with an attractive crispness to round it off. I would expect this lieu-dit to be leaner in this cooler vintage, but while this is slim and trim, it’s charming, too. 2024–28. | 88
Pommard Clos Marey-Monge Grands Esprits
Soft summer-fruit aromatics. Light and delicate, with a fine, soft, salty finish. I like the touch of bitterness at the end. 2025–28. | 86–87
Expressive floral aromas. Fruity and quite silky upfront, but it clips along with a light tannic bite. Has slight grip and austerity, and no lack of freshness. Slim, with energetic skate on the finish. Combines light austerity with a certain elegance. Much more refined than the Bignon, but also more in place. I like this a lot. 2025–28. | 87
THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 79 | 2023 | 193
DOMAINE DU PAVILLON White
Meursault Premier Cru Les Charmes
Quite an oaky Charmes. Quite full and creamy, with well-ripened fruit, blending with buttery and nutty notes. Blonde. 2026–30+. | 92–93
Red
Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Ursulines Smoky, caramel aroma, which must be the oak. Ripe redcurrant and Sichuan pepper on this energetic, slightly herbal palate. A gravelly edge to the chunky tannin. Rather loose and robust. 2026–30. | 88
Pommard Premier Cru Rugiens
Slightly oaky aroma, showing a touch of asphalt, with glacé-cherry fruit. The attack is crunchy, with cassis, but becomes smooth vanilla. It is energetic. It has lithe muscle and a peppercorn prance. Slightly bitter, sapid twang to finish. An interesting wine, showing some complexity. 2027–32. | 93
Corton Grand Cru Clos des Maréchaudes
An oaky aroma, with toasty and caramel notes. Rich with summer fruits. It’s smoothly rounded, with minty black chocolate and a longish, fluid line. Some sensuality, spiked with a sapid, fresh, and tangy tannin on the finish. 2026–33. | 92
CHÂTEAU DE POMMARD Paul Negrerie, who arrived just before the 2021 harvest, is the new winemaker. The domaine was Demeter-certified for biodynamic production in 2022. “We see the improvement in the soil now. I would like to see more acidity and energy in the wine, but we need ten years to see the effect on the pH in the grapes.” It’s a struggle to find pickers, but all is picked by hand, which is not easy, as everything matures at roughly the same time in the 47-acre (19ha) Clos Marey-Monge. Ideally Negrerie requires 70 pickers. The clos is divided into six parcels, while a seventh wine is a blend. As we tasted, we looked out of the window of the château to see the parcels. I tasted four wines from the clos, of which my favorite was Grands Esprits, for its finer texture. This comes from the section near the Route 74, where there is more limestone.
White Ladoix Premier Cru Les Gréchons
Peachy, nutty aroma, with a savory palate showing some macadamia-nut oiliness. An attractive fat. Quite a lot of new oak, but it works and provides a touch of richness to finish. 2023–25. | 86
NANTOUX
DOMAINE BORIS CHAMPY Boris Champy, who is based in Nantoux, on the Hautes-Côtes behind Monthelie, has parcels of vines at different altitudes, and on different soil types, from which he makes his different cuvées. Champy used plenty of whole-bunch on his reds, if fewer than in 2020. Strict selection was necessary, for while his later budding vines were less affected by frost than those on the côte, they were affected by botrytis. It’s colder up here and Champy fills out the body of the whites with some bâtonnage and some new oak. This year he has two Aligotés—the same grapes but those for one wine are pressed in a vertical press. He saved his production in Beaune with candles. He works biodynamically. “What makes the wines so beautiful, fresh, and pleasant is the small yields,” he commented. These wines from the Hautes-Côtes punch well above their weight.
Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Aligoté Doré
Half of the vines for this cuvée are very old and half were replanted with sélection massale in the mid-80s. Barrel-fermented, some bâtonnage. Steely and savory. Cutting and edgy, with a nicely bitter almond-kernel bite to finish. 2023–26. | 83–84
Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Aligoté Presse Verticalé 429
Fruit from the same vines is pressed in his vertical press, which gives very clear juice with slightly higher acidity, although Boris says this was less apparent in 2021 than in 2020. It is fresh and vibrant, with a silky gloss; more body and texture from the 50% new oak. Very nicely balanced. An alluring, even glamorous Aligoté. 2023–26. | 84–85
Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc Montagne 382
Richer, riper citrus aroma, just lightly rounded, with sweet acidity and a concentration of candied citrus. More viscosity. Champy used bâtonnage to enrich the palate. Lightly nutty and a touch of fresh butter. Slight lactic notes at the end. 2024–27. | 84–85
Red
Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Bignon 421
A wild, forest-floor, earthy note. A light punch to the mid-palate. Dark, gamey, and graphite. There is a touch of lightly astringent, sinewy freshness. It is wine in evolution, demanding another winter in barrel. 2025–28. | 85+
Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Clou 377
2021 BURGUNDY: CÔTE DE BEAUNE
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