As I was leaving work, Jean told me that she'd be home for dinner by 8,
and requested a meal of duck breasts, potatoes and spinach. I obliged
by searing and broiling the duck breasts, roasting the fingerling
potatoes in olive oil with garlic and sauteing the spinach in EVOO with
garlic, black pepper and a dash of lemon. She'd also requested a "great
wine" with this meal, so I went down to the cellar and brought back:

1993 Louis Jadot Pommard 1er Grands Èpenots
color: ruby red, going brick at the rim
nose: pencil lead! herbaceous, cherries, cedar, minerals
palate: medium body, good spine of acidity, black cherry fruit, pencil lead

Purchased at Sam's at a Warehouse Sale during their relocation for $35
or so, this was one of my first serious Burgundy purchases. Tonight,
this wine illustrated the old adage that Burgundy and Bordeaux converge
with age: it had a very Bordelaise nose, and could easily have passed
for a claret with 20+ years of age on it. The fruit was shaded to the
black side of the Pinot Nor spectrum, too, adding to the impression. It
went well with the duck and got better as the meal went on. Although
ready now, it'll probably last another 3-5 years, especially if your
cellar is colder than our passively cooled one.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Jul 10, 11:36�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> As I was leaving work, Jean told me that she'd be home for dinner by 8,
> and requested a meal of duck breasts, potatoes and spinach. �I obliged
> by searing and broiling the duck breasts, roasting the fingerling
> potatoes in olive oil with garlic and sauteing the spinach in EVOO with
> garlic, black pepper and a dash of lemon. �She'd also requested a "great
> wine" with this meal, so I went down to the cellar and brought back:
>
> 1993 Louis Jadot Pommard 1er Grands �penots
> color: ruby red, going brick at the rim
> nose: pencil lead! herbaceous, cherries, cedar, minerals
> palate: medium body, good spine of acidity, black cherry fruit, pencil lead
>
> Purchased at Sam's at a Warehouse Sale during their relocation for $35
> or so, this was one of my first serious Burgundy purchases. �Tonight,
> this wine illustrated the old adage that Burgundy and Bordeaux converge
> with age: it had a very Bordelaise nose, and could easily have passed
> for a claret with 20+ years of age on it. �The fruit was shaded to the
> black side of the Pinot Nor spectrum, too, adding to the impression. �It
> went well with the duck and got better as the meal went on. �Although
> ready now, it'll probably last another 3-5 years, especially if your
> cellar is colder than our passively cooled one.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Nice notes. I think the Bdx/Burg convergence is probably more evident
with the meatier areas like Pommard, Corton, and Gevrey, rather than
the more elegant villages lke Volnay and Chambolle, but that's totally
conjecture, just musing as I type.
I've heard good arguments that Rugiens and Epenots are of GC quality.

DaleW wrote:

> Nice notes. I think the Bdx/Burg convergence is probably more evident
> with the meatier areas like Pommard, Corton, and Gevrey, rather than
> the more elegant villages lke Volnay and Chambolle, but that's totally
> conjecture, just musing as I type.

Makes sense to me. I never got that sense from any of the '88s we've
consumed over the past 1-2 years, but that list is mostly Volnay with a
few CdN GCs.

> I've heard good arguments that Rugiens and Epenots are of GC quality.

....in the hands of a top producer, perhaps. But, to me, no Village has
more disappointing producers in it than Pommard, especially when
constrasted with Volnay. Apart from Jadot, Drouhin(?), de Montille and
D'Angerville, I can't really think of anyone making good wine in
Pommard. I see that Nicolas Potel now makes wine there, but I haven't
seen anything about it.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Jul 11, 11:10�am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > Nice notes. I think the Bdx/Burg convergence is probably more evident
> > with the meatier areas like Pommard, Corton, and Gevrey, rather than
> > the more elegant villages lke Volnay and Chambolle, but that's totally
> > conjecture, just musing as I type.
>
> Makes sense to me. �I never got that sense from any of the '88s we've
> consumed over the past 1-2 years, but that list is mostly Volnay with a
> few CdN GCs.
>
> > I've heard good arguments that Rugiens and Epenots are of GC quality.
>
> ...in the hands of a top producer, perhaps. �But, to me, no Village has
> more disappointing producers in it than Pommard, especially when
> constrasted with Volnay. �Apart from Jadot, Drouhin(?), de Montille and
> D'Angerville, I can't really think of anyone making good wine in
> Pommard. �I see that Nicolas Potel now makes wine there, but I haven't
> seen anything about it.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

I have to agree Pommard. Nothing really charming about the wines
from there although I still have a few '98 Epenots from Vincent
Girardin that aren't bad. I also find a convergence on older brg/bdx
melding together but I tend to find that it holds true for many red
wines from various regions when they get old enough they all tend to
get similar flavor profiles. For some it might take 30+ years but
eventually they all seem to get that earthy, cigarbox, leathery
notes. Just as older white wines tend to get nutty with age...or
maybe it's just me.

On Jul 11, 11:10�am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > Nice notes. I think the Bdx/Burg convergence is probably more evident
> > with the meatier areas like Pommard, Corton, and Gevrey, rather than
> > the more elegant villages lke Volnay and Chambolle, but that's totally
> > conjecture, just musing as I type.
>
> Makes sense to me. �I never got that sense from any of the '88s we've
> consumed over the past 1-2 years, but that list is mostly Volnay with a
> few CdN GCs.
>
> > I've heard good arguments that Rugiens and Epenots are of GC quality.
>
> ...in the hands of a top producer, perhaps. �But, to me, no Village has
> more disappointing producers in it than Pommard, especially when
> constrasted with Volnay. �Apart from Jadot, Drouhin(?), de Montille and
> D'Angerville, I can't really think of anyone making good wine in
> Pommard. �I see that Nicolas Potel now makes wine there, but I haven't
> seen anything about it.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.cwdjr.net


I quite like Michel Gaunoux and de Courcel, and (from one taste) Louis
Boillot.

Comte Armand is of course the big name, though I don't always love the
style.

Outside the two vineyards I mentioned, Lafarge does well in Pezerolles
and Coche just added a Pommard 1er.