Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Epenots 2022 Domaine Justin Girardin

The Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Epenots 2022 from Domaine Justin Girardin is one of the domaine's most ambitious and structured cuvées, a Pinot Noir of real presence born from what many consider Pommard's finest premier cru terroir. It reveals an aromatic richness and delicacy that surprises those who expect only power from this appellation. The Girardin family, established in Burgundy since 1570, tends this exceptional vineyard with the same biodynamic philosophy, gentle extraction, and rigour that guide the entire domaine.

The terroir of Les Grands Epenots

The name Epenots derives from the thorny scrub that once covered this Pommard slope before Guillaume d'Argilly acquired it in 1620, cleared it, and gifted it to the monks of Cîteaux, likely at the abbey of Maizières in Beaune. Positioned to the north-east of Pommard village, on the great route of the Grand Crus and at the immediate edge of the Beaune vineyards, Les Grands Epenots is often cited by specialists as Pommard's finest terroir overall, superior to Les Rugiens for its greater aromatic richness and more supple, delicate character. The soil is rich in calcareous marl and gravel, with a steep slope and perfect south-east exposure on a gentle slope. This composition gives Pinot Noir wines that are at once powerful and remarkably elegant, an apparent contradiction that only the finest Pommard terroirs manage to resolve. The vineyard rows are particularly long, some reaching 400 metres, requiring considerable labour during hand harvest. Bottling is timed to favourable lunar days, according to the domaine's biodynamic practice.

Tasting profile

The colour is a deep, lustrous red with garnet hues. The nose is immediately rich and complex: intense aromas of blackcurrant, dark cherry, and bilberry mingle with floral notes of violet and rose petals, touched by soft spice, pepper and liquorice, with hints of damp earth and iron that reflect the ferrugginous marl-limestone terroir. On the palate, the attack is broad and fleshy, with concentrated, profound substance carried by well-marked and well-integrated acidity. The tannins are present and substantial, yet remarkably supple for a Pommard thanks to gentle extraction: a five to seven day cold pre-fermentation maceration, followed by frequent pumping over rather than punch-downs. The finish is long, persistent, and slightly astringent in youth, promising graceful cellar evolution over ten to fifteen years. A powerful and delicate Pommard in one.

The domaine

The Girardin family has been established in Burgundy since 1570. Justin Girardin, the thirteenth generation, took over the family's 17-hectare domaine in 2012 from his father Jacques, brother of the renowned négociant Vincent Girardin. With experience gained abroad and in other French wine regions, he returned to Burgundy with a resolutely modern vision: wines closer to their terroir, fermented with indigenous yeasts, with gentle extraction and measured oak ageing using little new wood. He has committed the domaine firmly to biodynamics: nearly all hand labour, massal selection, adherence to the lunar calendar, and bottling on favourable lunar days. On Les Grands Epenots, ageing extends over twelve months in oak with a proportion of new wood suited to the terroir's power, followed by a period in tank to refine the whole before bottling.

Food pairings

This Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Epenots will pair beautifully with jugged hare, wild boar braised with black olives, grilled beef rib with truffle jus, lamb rack with herbs, or game birds such as partridge with cabbage or roasted woodcock. It will also harmonise well with aged, characterful cheeses like a well-made Époisses, mature Comté, or other distinctive cheeses. At least an hour of decanting is strongly advised in its youth. Served between 15 and 17°C, it will progressively reveal the full depth, richness, and delicacy of one of Pommard's finest terroirs.