2007 Pommard Clos des Epeneaux 1er Cru

For an estate on the Cote de Beaune, the Domaine des Epeneaux picked relatively late in 2008, starting on September 29. "We needed the north wind," said Benjamin Leroux, who told me that potential alcohol levels were between 12.8% and 13.2%, and that the sorting was easy in 2008 (as well as in '07) because the wine dried out the rotten grapes. Two thousand eight was a more difficult vintage in the vineyards than 2007 had been, but it was still fairly easy to harvest and to vinify. The team here did a "big leaf pulling" in July and reduced the crop later in the summer, with the target yield in the 30 hectoliters-per-hectare range. But the result was between 20 and 25, said Leroux. He describes the 2008s as having "a cold type of ripeness, like 2006." (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA; Martin-Scott Wines. Ltd., Lake Success, NY)

This estate harvested in fits and starts in 2007, starting with their Volnay Fremiets on August 30, then stopping for a few days before bringing in the rest of their Volnay and Pommard between September 4 and 9. Then, after picking chardonnay, they harvested Auxey-Duresses on September 17. The finished village wines as well as the Clos des Epeneaux will be under 13% alcohol, said winemaker Benjamin Leroux, who told me he loves wines with moderate alcohol levels. In fact, he prefers 2007 to 2005 because he feels the new vintage is a better example of terroir. "Two thousand five is a monster-a wine that needs 30 years of aging. It has too much of everything. The 2007s have more vitality. They can also be enjoyed early," he told me, "but the Clos des Epeneaux really wants ten years in the bottle." Incidentally, the Clos des Epeneaux is now vinified in separate components by geology rather than by vine age. The young vines will be used to make a Pommard 1er Cru, while the top and bottom parts of the Clos have similar average vine age but different soil make-up. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA and Martin-Scott Wines. Ltd., Lake Success, NY)