2016 Domaine de Courcel 'Grand Clos des Épenots' 1er Cru Pommard

CRITICAL ACCLAIM


Vinous - "Bright ruby-red. Deep, ripe aromas of black cherry and chocolatey oak, plus a high-toned whiff of sherry. Then large-scaled and aromatic in the mouth, conveying stronger terroir personality than the foregoing wines. Complex and fine-grained, with a positive trace of bracing bitterness. Chewy, chocolatey, well-integrated tannins take over the entire mouth on the back end. This nuanced, fine-grained wine finishes with a trace of dried herbs and has the structure to age. The yield here was just eight hectoliters per hectare, according to estate manager Yves Confuron. (92-94pts)"


Burghound - "A fresher if still very ripe nose displays notes of cassis, black cherry, spice and a touch of wood influence. The refined yet overtly powerful flavors possess so much dry extract that they come across as velvety and forward just until the almost painfully intense finish where the character changes to a youthfully austere, dusty and very serious finale. This too is a big 2016 with plenty of muscle and excellent aging potential."


Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - "The 2016 Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots offers up aromas of blackcurrant cordial, blood orange, dark chocolate and spices, followed by a full-bodied, broad-shouldered palate built around an ample chassis of richly extracted powdery stem tannin, concentrated fruit and tangy acids, concluding with a long, mordant finish. The wine's aromas, flavors and structure are all quite stylized, marked by Yves Confuron's preference for extended cold macerations, stem retention and long fermentations, but in that style, it is an undeniable success—albeit one that only the most patient of readers will ever encounter at maturity."