Pommard AOC, 2018

Deliciously ripe mellow fruits with red apples, cherries and herbal notes lead to a soft velvety palate. Billard’s Pommard just blew me away at the end of a very strong line up of 2018s! It is rich with fresh red cherry, cherry jam and other cooked fruit flavours. Supple with concentration and a succulent finish. Vines are cultivated on alluvial soils to the east of the village of Pommard at the bottom of the slope on what was an old river bed with large stones and chalky marl. The deep well draining soils, similar to neighbouring Premier Crus, combined with a south-east exposition, ensure full maturity of Pinot and produce finely textured wines. Jérôme’s vineyards in Pommard and Beaune Les Chouacheux are worked using a Comtois horse in order to avoid soil compaction that can occur using tractors. Named Rafale, he is 13 years old and was previously employed by a prestigious neighbouring estate in the Côte de Nuits where Jérôme’s son Louis is an apprentice.