2023 Pommard Epenots 1er Cru

“The 2023 vintage was much easier than 2024,” proprietor Christine Gruère-Fontaine tells me in the tasting room in Pernand-Vergelesses. “The crop was pretty big. When we saw the amount of grapes in summer, we thought it might be better to do a green harvest. We are glad we did cut off around 20% of the bunches, less in older vines and none for the whites. When we picked, we found we could obtain the right amount of fruit concentration. We started sampling berries at the end of August. The sugar levels were not so high, and the pips did not seem ripe. Then, we had a heat wave that began at the end of August up to 36°C. This added 3.5% potential alcohol within ten days. On September 1, we picked the Bourgogne Les Crenilles, as it had already reached 13.5% potential, and we began the main harvest on September 5. The whites were bottled at the end of August 2024.”