Pommard is well-known for its opulent, structured red wines and this year I decided to blend the 2 Pommard 1er cru parcels together. Les Arvelets accounts for 8ha of Pommard’s 1er cru vineyards. Situated at an altitude of around 270m on a south facing vineyard on a soil of clay-limestone. Clos Blanc is only a couple of hundred metres away from Les Arvelets.

It is a much stonier parcel and produced a wine with a denser core of dark fruit. The fragrance of Les Arvelets coupled with the structure and spice of the Clos Blanc has made a more complex wine. The perfect couple. This a blend of 2/3 Pommard 1er cru Arvelets and 1/3 Pommard 1er cru Clos Blanc.

The colour is dark ruby. The nose reveals notes of cherry, dusty roses and spice. On the palate, the wine has flavours of cherries and spice that leads into elegant, lingering tannins.

Drink: 2026 - 2036.

Production: 960 bottles and 20 magnums

Jasper Morris — Inside Burgundy

On my first visit I tried the two components separately and the blend, which I preferred then, confirmed again on retasting in bottle subsequently. The Arvelets on its own was on the under-ripe side while the Clos Blanc need a touch more energy. The blend is much better than either because the Clos Blanc fills out the middle while the Arvelets gives the class of Jane Eyre’s style.

No more than ruby in colour, with very perfumed alpine strawberries, with some extra weight behind. Indeed, this muscles up quite nicely at the back.

4 stars, 92 pts. December 2024.