For Purists: Red Burgundy
That's Starting to Shine
2001 Comte Armand Pommard
1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux
"This is an extremely impressive effort" -Burghound
Comte Armand nailed the 2001 vintage. As usual, their Clos des Epeneaux is the star.
Burghound's note above from 2013 is just another voice in the chorus praising the '01 Clos des Epeneaux. This is a bottle that's just starting to really shine.
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For purists, the 2001 vintage in Burgundy has become a very important one. This is an extremely mineral, soil-inflected vintage. In its youth, the 2001 vintage was known for being stern and suffered from being overshadowed by the heralded and flashier 2002 vintage.
Often the important wines from '01 are from the Côte de Nuits. However, Comte Armand's Clos des Epeneaux is undoubtedly one of the top Côte de Beaune reds in 2001. This has been clear since release, but now that it's just starting to reach maturity the wine is obviously drop dead gorgeous and still promises plenty of evolution ahead of it.
The wine's success in 2001 doesn't surprise us at all. First, Pommard was spared some of the harsh weather that hit Volnay. Most importantly, though, Clos des Epeneaux is one of the great sites of the Côte de Beaune. Pommard doesn't have any Grand Crus, but it's fair to say that at its best Comte Armand's Clos des Epeneaux can hit heights that rival Grand Crus.
Clos des Epeneaux's density and formidable structure need time to reveal just how profound the wine 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 focus on how packed and powerful Clos des Epeneaux can be misses a key element. With time, it's capable of supreme elegance. For all of its dark-hued robust character, for all its tannic structure, there's an element of silk to the texture of the wine. Add to this dark fruits, game and deep, dark minerality and you get a sense of Clos des Epeneaux's regal grandeur.
I should warn you: this is a very small parcel. I sent this out on a sleepy autumn Monday and to a small list of people to try to cause as few headaches as possible for my colleagues. Having said that, I'm guessing that I'll be allocating bottles this evening.
To order, reply to this email or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits