As usual, I sampled the various constituents of the cuvée before tasting a representative blend of the 2018 Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux, and as ever, the whole is superior to the sum of the parts. Wafting from the glass with a deep bouquet of raspberries, cherries, peonies, spices, orange rind, cassis, woodsmoke and espresso roast, the wine is medium to full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, its lively and concentrated core of fruit framed by rich structuring tannins, concluding with a long and sapid finish. This promises to number among the Côte de Beaune's wines of the vintage, and it will be well worth seeking out.

The 2018 Pommard Clos des Epeneaux 1er Cru is quite rich on the nose, precocious black cherries, mint and raspberry, rose petal notes emerging with time. The palate is slightly gamey on the entry. Fine depth here, leathery, perhaps a little savoury towards the finish. I was more positive in my review last year, but maybe it's just beginning to reveal its limitation, or rather, it's shortcomings vis-à-vis the '19.