2003 Pommard Les Frémiers 1er Cru

Yves Confuron did not start harvesting in 2004 until the first week of October and only finished on the 18th. He carried out "long but not violent vinifications," with no post-fermentation maceration. (Confuron has vinified whole clusters since 1996. )The wines, he said, lacked aromatic intensity at the beginning, but they now appear to be sufficiently concentrated to last 12 to 15 years. They will get an elevage of nearly 22 months and will be racked only for the bottling. They were difficult to taste in November, however, as some of the malos had not finished and the wines were in various states of reduction. The estate's large-scaled '03s are superripe and '47-like but avoid coming off as cooked. The two top wines of the estate were bottled with alcohol in the 14. 5% range, and pHs nearly off the grid, as Confuron did not acidify. They will rely on their tannins and considerable phenolic material to age. "They have huge tannins, but the tannins don't bother you," noted Confuron; "the mouth is fresh two seconds later. "

Never one to be afraid of superripe fruit, Yves Confuron started picking in 2003 on September 4, bringing in fruit with potential alcohol ranging from 13.5% to 14.8% and sticking to his practice of not adding acid.Yields here were infinitesimal, although production of the domain's old vines were down only about 15% from normal levels.Still, noted Confuron, "if people made 40% less in 2003 than their normal production, their yields are still too high."Confuron did not stray from his normal extraction and his practice of long cuvaisons in 2003; his methods have something in common with those of Jacques Lardiere at Jadot.The malos mostly finished in November and December of 2003, but the wines were still on their lees, unracked, at the time of my visit.