Pommard Clos des Epenots 1993 Chateau de Meursault

Clos des Epeneaux is one of Pommard’s most highly regarded Premier Cru vineyards, located at the base of the Côte d’Or escarpment in the Côte de Beaune region of Burgundy. It is a walled vineyard, nestled between the Grands Epenots and Petits Epenots climats, and like its neighbors it is planted entirely to Pinot Noir. Clos des Epeneaux Premier Cru wines are full bodied and complex with elegant, earthy characters and the ability to age for many years.

The three vineyards make up the larger Epenots lieu-dit, and wines from all three vineyards can be labeled under that name. However, as Clos des Epeneaux is considered the best of these three vineyards (and one of the best non-Grand Cru classified vineyards in the Côte de Beaune) it is often vinified separately. Clos des Epeneaux is a monopole of Comte Armand, who use most of the vineyard to make their Clos des Epeneaux Premier Cru wine, with the remaining going into a more generic Pommard Premier Cru blend.

Clos des Epeneaux shares an unusual quirk of geology with Petits and Grands Epenots: the bedrock here is much closer to the surface than in the vineyards higher on the hill. Vines here sit on stony, pebbly soils made up of iron-rich limestone. Combined with the vineyard’s gentle slope, this gives perfect drainage, and vines are deprived of the ability to grow a lot of leafy foliage. Instead, energy goes into producing small, concentrated berries that translate into structured, rich wines with a lot of finesse.

The southeast-facing slope here also gives Clos des Epeneaux an excellent exposure to the morning sunlight. This means that grapes are able to reach optimum ripeness during the growing season, but not so quickly that they lose their acidity. As such, Clos des Epeneaux Premier Cru wines are well balanced and can be cellared for many years.

There are no Grand Cru vineyards in the 15 kilometers (10 miles) between the Corton hill and Montrachet. Pommard winemakers have been petitioning to change this, and the Epenots lieu-dit (along with Rugiens just to the south) seems the most likely for promotion.