Colossal Scale, Supreme Elegance
Comte Armand
Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux:
1999 & 2005 750s & Mags
Vintage after vintage, Comte Armand's Clos des Epeneaux is one of the top wines produced in all of Pommard.
With the right amount of age, Comte Armand's Clos des Epeneaux can be mind-blowing.
Today, I'm happy to offer two of my favorite recent vintages of Clos des Epeneaux, 1999 and 2005. The latter is available in both 750s and magnums.
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I've tasted at least a handful of the '99 over the years and each time I've been really impressed. The wine's balance, intensity and overall breeding place it in the company of some of the more elite wines of the vintage. I really like Burghound's most recent tasting note: "A genuinely brilliant nose... this is really quite concentrated, seamless and exquisitely harmonious."
It probably goes without saying that the 2005 Clos des Epeneaux is stunning. It is without a doubt one for the ages, especially out of magnum. The sheer density and earthy tones on the wine are insane. The length and the mid-palate really clues you in to the promise this bottle holds. It will simply be a crazy good bottle with some time in the cellar.
Pommard, like Nuits St. Georges and Gevrey, produces dense, fiercely muscular wines. However, with top 1er Crus like Epeneaux, there's no mistaking the grandeur, the complexity and outright breeding that Pommard is capable of. This is particularly true of Comte Armand's Clos des Epeneaux. It's fair to say that, at its best, Comte Armand's Clos des Epeneaux can hit heights that rival Grand Crus.
To focus on how packed and powerful Clos des Epeneaux can be misses a key element. With time, it's capable of supreme elegance.
Clos des Epeneaux's density and formidable structure needs time to reveal just how profound it can be, but when it does - watch out! The longevity of Clos des Epeneaux is shocking. In 2008, Burghound more or less flipped over a bottle of 1864.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
Burghound: "Like the 2006, this is presently brooding and even more backward with only grudging and very ripe notes of plum, spice and earth in evidence where the earthy character can also be found on the textured, velvety and mouth coating full-bodied flavors blessed by superb depth of material and so much dry extract that the finish is borderline chewy but not at all aggressive. A serious wine that will need at least 15 and probably 20 years to really be at its best but when it arrives, it should more than repay the wait. Note that in my strong opinion it is pointless to purchase this and try to enjoy it young as it really will need extended bottle age to justify the price of admission."