1999 Pommard Grand Clos des Epenots 1er Cru

The 20th century went out with a bang for red Burgundy lovers, with the 1999 vintage producing copious quantities of excellent to outstanding wine.

From the outset, the 1999 red Burgundies offered a rare combination of charm and power. Most of the better wines were balanced and alluring from the start, but they are evolving very slowly and still have plenty of life ahead of them. While many of the ‘99s I sampled with the producers this winter have gone through sullen stages in bottle, most of them have launched into their periods of peak drinkability. If you own these wines – and especially if you chose wisely at the outset – you will be amply rewarded.

Not surprisingly in light of recent practice, this domain did not begin its harvest in 2000 until September 19, a full week after the storm that compromised so much pinot noir on the Cote de Beaune. "The heavy rain did not really penetrate the soil," maintained winemaker Yves Confuron, and grape sugars were as high as 14% in the Epenots vines. The wines possess adequate tannins and will not require an early bottling. In fact, Confuron told me, they really need the refinement that a longer levage brings. The Courcel '99s, bottled in July, are among the most impressive wines of the Cote de Beaune.

Short pruning, subsequent spring pruning even in the estate older vines, and a summer green harvest in the more generous parcels kept this domain's average yield to a very low 35 hectoliters per hectare in '99, according to winemaker Yves Confuron. The fruit here, harvested late for maximum ripeness, undergoes a week of pre-fermentation cold maceration and spends a total of five weeks on its skins. "Because the grapes are not crushed, and since we always have a percentage of small, millerande berries, the grapes give up their sugars slowly," notes Confuron, adding that a bit of chaptalization further prolongs the fermentation. The resulting wines are quite powerful yet maintain a degree of finesse, as the tannins are sweet and smooth. Not surprisingly, the '99s show great early promise.