2021 Pommard Les Perrières

I have been remiss at not calling in at this Pommard producer to see former fighter pilot Xavier Horiot, who swapped the cockpit for a vat room as recently as 2015. “I was hit by the frost and a bit of hail, which was difficult to assess in terms of impact,” he tells me. “But the frost affected around 50% of the vines, especially Les Perrières. It was complicated to find the correct maturity between the phenols and acidity, so I aimed for a midpoint. There was a lack of people during harvest time, so the logistics were not easy. I started picking on 18 September. Also, it was complicated in terms of ripeness and a high amount of malic, so when tasting during vinification and being confronted with the high acidity, you had to trust your instinct. I was accustomed to assessing fermenting wine at higher levels of alcohol. Once in barrel, the wines were disappointing for almost five months, and I wondered what it would be at the end. I was not confident. Now, the wines are very different, more traditional.”