2017 POMMARD. Les Perrières domaine Launay-Horiot, Burgundy.

What an amazing little Domaine this is. Winemaker Xavier Horiot was a former fighter pilot who then spent 11 years in (legal) combat with his family (his grandfather was a vigneron) to gain ownership and control of the Domaine.

Left with just 4ha (in Pommard and Gevrey-Chambertin) he and his wife Eleonara sold off their first two crops (2012 and 2013) to balance the books. So, the Pommard les Perrières 2017 is only his 4^th release. This is a 2has plot on soils of sand, gravel, and limestone just below the famous Premier Cru of Epenots, with some vines over 100 years old.

Winemaker Xavier Horiot was a former fighter pilot who then spent 11 years in (legal) combat with his family (his grandfather was a vigneron) to gain ownership and control of the Domaine.

Left with just 4ha (in Pommard and Gevrey-Chambertin) he and his wife Eleonara sold off their first two crops (2012 and 2013) to balance the books. So, the Pommard les Perrières 2017 is only his 4^th release.

Farmed lutte raisonnée, grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and held in cold maceration for 6-8 days. Fermented with a mix of pumping over and hand plunging (pigeage). The wine was aged in oak for 12 months of which 15% were new.

This is very much an example of new wave Pommard where the emphasis is on delicacy, finesse, and perfumed bright (red cherry) fruit. Oak notes are subtle, and tannins are paper fine. There is a lovely gentle mineral note underscoring the whole wine. It is also a partial reflection of the cooler 2017 vintage.

You can drink now (no need to decant) but will keep and evolve for another 3-4 years. This is a serious and authentic red Burgundy.