Pommard

The wine

Between Beaune to the north and Volnay to the south, Pommard occupies one of the strongest seams of the Côte de Beaune. The appellation, recognised by the founding decrees of September 11, 1936, is devoted exclusively to Pinot Noir — a singularity among neighbouring villages, which more often share their land between red and white. Clay-limestone slopes, drained by stony rubble, shape the identity of its twenty-eight climats classified as Premiers Crus, of which Les Rugiens and Les Épenots have held first-rank status since the nineteenth century. The wines, deep in colour and intense in bouquet, can show astringency in their youth — a sturdy frame that calls for at least four years in the cellar and reveals its full breadth after a decade. Served at sixteen to eighteen degrees, a Pommard pairs beautifully with feathered game, beef bourguignon, or a robust cheese such as Livarot.