"This is one of the finest domaines in all of Burgundy." -Burghound
2009 Michel Gaunoux Pommard
1er Cru Grands Épenots
"This exceptionally promising effort is beautifully well-balanced and unapologetically built for the long-term." -Burghound
Michel Gaunoux's are some of the most steadfastly traditional wines around. As the Burghound quote above makes clear, they're also some of the best.
It shouldn't have come as a surprise when his 2009 Grands Épenots was the standout of a tasting of over thirty wines, including the likes of Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo, but honestly the wine shocked all of us.
2009 is a great vintage. In general it's defined by its concentration, its suave fruit-led textures. Gaunoux's Grands Épenots showed a different side of the vintage: one where raw power is rigorously disciplined, where a firm backbone of minerality is a defining element.
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It was really compelling.
The value here is outstanding. There are painfully few red Burgundies in the $100 range with proven track records for aging three or four decades. The list is short: besides Gaunoux, there's Chevillon, some vintages of d'Angerville's Champans clock-in at this price range... Barolo has a couple examples, too: Bartolo Mascarello and Guiseppe Mascarello's Monprivato. In short, there aren't many red wines in the world at this price point that possess the history of ageability and quality that Gaunoux's do.
Michel Gaunoux's are unapologetically traditional Burgundies. There's no effort to make wines that flaunt any early approachability or youthful flashiness.
Instead, Gaunoux's wines are about a tightly knit subtlety, a soulful earthy minerality that blossoms with time. These days wines like this are exceedingly rare. They're a glimpse of a winemaking style that's all but vanished in the region.
For me, Gaunoux's Pommards exemplify his style the best. And his 2009 Grands Épenots is a beautiful example. It boasts muscular red fruits, earth and plenty of acid-driven tension. The structure is, for sure, formidable, but it's also incredibly harmonious and the ripeness of the 09 vintage provides some cushion.
Pommard is a village that doesn't have any Grand Crus. However, 1er Cru sites like Grands Épenots can deliver a level of complexity and ageability that can rival many a Grand Cru.
When it comes to aging, the track record at Gaunoux is pretty crazy. In May of 2011, Burghound was blown away by a bottle of 1937 Grands Épenots. We've had plenty of great bottles from the 60s.
The density and the balance of the 2009 promises that it will age for the next twenty plus years without breaking a sweat.
As I said earlier, the Gaunoux is truly a throw-back to a different era that scarcely exists beyond the domaine. I'm happy to be able offer such a compelling and uncompromisingly old-fashioned wine.
To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
2009 Michel Gaunoux Pommard 1er Cru Grands Épenots
Compare at up to $120
Burghound "Discreet wood is almost lost on the densely fruited, closed and brooding nose of ripe red berry fruit liqueur, warm earth and anise. There is excellent freshness and verve to the big-bodied and concentrated flavors that despite the impressive size and weight are shaped by compact but refined tannins on the explosively long finish. This exceptionally promising effort is beautifully well-balanced and unapologetically built for the long-term."