Chateau Pommard Wines

Kudos to Jeff & Cindy Coggin from Coggin Travel Agency, Atlanta, Georgia who put together an outstanding cruise along the Snake and Columbia Rivers following the Lewis & Clark trail where every evening at dinner we had a white and red Chateau Pommard wine.  Chateau Pommard has been around for centuries, originally founded in 1725,  but was purchased and upgraded a few years ago by Michael Baum who continues to make outstanding terroir driven wine from this vineyard.  I encourage you to take a trip to Burgundy to visit the vineyard.  You can't miss it it is one of the first vineyards you will see on the southern wine trail leaving Beaune.  They also have a direct to consumer program with reasonable shipping and ship to most states in the USA.  You can contact them here:

https://www.chateaudepommard.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5ZSWBhCVARIsALERCvyp5aX1C_62SadSDfdYzAfqjycoxwUQ1ll9Rtd4XI9rLzST1178ihYaAua1EALw_wcB

Chateau Pommard White Burgundy

Meursault 2015

This appellation has been around since the Middle Ages. One of my favorite families lives in the Village of Meursault in the shadow of the Church Bell tower, the Matrot’s who have been there for generations. As a rule, I do not favor Meursault finding them too much minerality, which some like better than me. I was in the minority on this one as many felt it was wimpy but I found that made it more approachable and pleasant. I called it “Meursault lite”. It was fairly complex on the nose and taste but understated. I tasted butter, a little smoke but subdued flint. There was good acidity making it a nice food-friendly wine. Yes, it lacked body but overall was a well-made basic entry-level Meursault and one that I could see buying.

Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru 2016

For many the greatest Chardonnay in the world is French Montrachet, a small vineyard worked by around 25 producers, some owning only 3 vines. The area itself goes back to Medieval times and over the years was divided into Puligny and Chassagne communes where today there are distinct villages present. As a rule, the Chassange’s are felt to be “softer” and more “feminine” but as usual, that may be a personal bias of some. In addition, as you will note later, Chassagne is one of the “white” areas that produce some “reds”. This particular “village” wine by Chateau Pommard is a basic simple Chassange-Montrachet with lots of fruit on the nose and flavor profile. A fairly classic Chassagne with primary flavors of vanilla and lemon and a hint of almond and hazelnut. There is a sense of minerality but to me, it is more in the background and not as pronounced as you find in a Puligny. It has an adequate acid skeleton which makes it food-friendly.

Santenay 1er Cru La Maladiere 2017

Fairly south in the Cote de Or this commune produces lighter whites with a continued mineral character due to fairly consistent clay/limestone soil which concentrates the terroir of the wine. Santenay is another southern Cote de Or area that makes red Burgundy but continues to make nice whites also. This particular wine could be described as having a balance of lime and vanilla in the nose and taste. For years California Chardonnay’s have been made at times attempting to have some lime and “green” color to the wine. It simply adds to the complexity which only adds to the allure of the wine. I clearly found pear, lemon, and apple here and some honeysuckle. It was a delightful wine with dinner and I highly recommend it, especially with buttery fish dishes.

Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru “Morgeot” 2018

A single vineyard premier cru white Burgundy that frankly a few vintners make wine from. This particular wine has a hedonistic nose and a flavor profile emphasizing lemon and vanilla. The oak is there but restrained. It is well balanced and the acid is right making the wine food-friendly. There is plenty of minerality in the wine but the fruit is equal to the minerality. An above-average wine with a reasonable price profile worth purchasing.

Ladoix 1er Cru Les Grechons 2018

I have now had this wine multiple times and all tastings have been very consistent. It is a little higher in acid when compared to other wines in the region but that only makes it more food-friendly especially with spicy food as well as shellfish. It should be remembered that these grapes come from the higher plots on the hill of Corton so one way to think of this wine is it is similar to the Grand Cru Corton Charlemagne at a significantly lower price. There is a lot of fruit smell and tastes a little different featuring flowers like honeysuckle, pineapple, and grapefruit with a hint of tart apple. Some tasters found mango, I thought maybe. Noted to have a long finish demonstrating the power of the wine.

Chateau Pommard Red Burgundy

Chambolle-Musigny 2017

When you spend as much time as I have in Burgundy and listen to the actual people who live there and make the wine you learn a lot that you do not learn from the distributors. Many years ago winemakers from the region advised me as far as they were concerned Chambolle-Musigny Red Burgundy was the benchmark that all Red Burgundies should be judged against and that it was your basic Red Burgundy and the one that the French preferred. I must admit once I started drinking them I was convinced. They are driven by ripe fruit on a foundation of limestone and flint background that gives them a unique taste. This one did not fail. The nose had fruit and limestone in a balanced profile. There is a velvet mouth feel and everything was balanced including the tannins which were subdued and elegant against a balanced acidity. There was a good finish. I agree it is drinkable now with some aging potential though my experience with 2017 burgundies, which I love, may not be as long as others.

Volnay 1er Cru 2017

Volnay is a commune close to Pommard in the Cote de Beaune somewhat on the upslope and is noted for having more mineral in the red wines and can compare to Monthelie which is adjacent. To me, 2017 was a great year in Burgundy and I continue to enjoy a wide variety of 2017s. I enjoyed this one which demonstrated a good level of complexity with flavors in the nose and the taste of cherry, blackberry, and blackcurrant. There was an earthy component one would expect. Balanced with a good finish it should have some aging potential as tannins and acid were balanced and adequate to maintain a good body to the wine.

Maranges 1er Cru Clos des Loyeres 2018

A fairly new commune making wine since 1988 south of the Cote de Or and close to Chagny and north of Rully and Mercurey the reds tend to have a mineral character reflective of the terroir of clay and limestone soil in the area. 2018 was another good year produced in this wine a more concentrated Pinot with an adequate fruit profile with cherry flavors and hints of flowers. The tannins were to be smooth and both tannin and acid integration were balanced and the wine had a good finish. The wine had a lighter body than some but the balanced complexity made the wine a pleasant quaff with dinner.

Chassange-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot 2016

Almost from the exact same vineyard but a premier cru red Burgundy from the southern Cote de Or. This wine has a good body and tannin structure and clearly presents both in the nose and flavor with characteristic cherry flavor along with a complexity including blackberry and currant and licorice is present with a hint of smoke. Balanced and velvety are words that come to mind. Well made worth aging.

Clos Marey-Monge Monopole 2008

Monopole means what you think it means. The vineyard completely owns and operates that vineyard without sharing it with anyone. This particular red Burgundy has been one of the main vineyards of Chateau Pommard going back 3 centuries. The winemaker Emmanuel Sala says this wine offers complexity along with subtlety and is like an Irish step dance, light but perpetual. I found it to have a little more body than that but clearly complex. The nose and flavor are classic red Burgundy with lots of cherry along with a spicy character. It comes from 7 single plots so with blending you might expect a somewhat flavor profile from year to year but it is a well-made wine with meticulous attention to detail. It was one of the best wines of the week and highly recommended.