Domaine de Courcel
2017 Pommard Premier Cru Les Rugiens
France

“Offering up aromas of dark berries, spices, smoked meats and cracked pepper that nod to the Northern Rhône, the 2017 Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens is medium to full-bodied, muscular and extracted, with a ripe core of fruit, an abundance of rich, powdery tannin and lively balancing acids. As ever, I’m conflicted between admiring Confuron’s uncompromising style and the undeniable concentration of these wines on the one hand and disliking the bitter seed and stem tannin that he extracts, as well as the exaggerated late-harvest qualities to the fruit tones. I tend to think that the result in the glass might be described as too much of a good thing and that more pragmatism and less philosophy would bear huge dividends, but I respect the fact that the winemaker has the courage of his convictions.”

“A brooding and slightly fresher highly spiced nose grudgingly reveals notes of plum, cassis, violet, sandalwood and tea. The intensely mineral-driven and muscular large-scaled flavors possess finer tannins, yet the mouthfeel is less opulent and rich, all wrapped in a mocha-infused, long and firmly structured finale. This too could fairly be described as atypical and particular.”