Owned by the family of the Comte Armand since 1825, Clos des Epeneaux is among Pommard’s most revered vineyards. Post-phylloxera, it wasn’t replanted until 1930. Further vineyards were acquired in ’94: Auxey-Duresses, Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru, Volnay, and Volnay’s Frémiets.
The modern era effectively began with Pascal Marchand, who was succeeded as a winemaker by Benjamin Leroux. When Ben left in 2014 to focus on his own business, Paul Zinetti took the reins. The grapes of two of the most prized parcels of the village are assembled for this wine. Les Breterins is a south-facing parcel with light, white soil prompting earlier ripeness and wines abundant with fruit. Les Duresses is southeast-facing with brown clay earth giving more dense, and tannic results. The complementarity of these two parcels results in a serious, powerful wine.
The 2019 Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru, a blend of two vineyards Les Beautrains and Les Bas des Duresses as usual, matured in around 25% new oak. It has a refined bouquet with a little more purity and sensuality compared to the Auxey Village. The palate is well balanced with a gentle grip on the entry, quite rich but fresh in style with candied orange peel infusing the mixture of black and blueberry fruit. Crunchy, almost brittle texture towards the finish which is surprising given the type of growing season. Recommended.