Pommard’s quality is on the rise. There is a view among professional wine buyers that some of the more tannic red wine Burgundy communes and crus like Pommard, Aloxe-Corton, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Clos Vougeot and Bonnes Mares now have improved tannin character, which is riper, softer and better integrated than previously.
The results of recent tastings by the Burgfest group, which I am part of, who meet every year and taste 350-400 red and white premiers and grands crus semi-blind (the commune is known but not the producer), have shown the averaged scores, of the dozen or so tasters, for the Pommard commune have increased. In some cases, they have overtaken those for Volnay, hitherto a Côte de Beaune commune greatly admired by the group, even in a cooler vintage like 2021.
As a result, I have been buying more Pommard. Alongside the long-established purchases of Comte Armand Clos des Epeneaux and de Montille’s Rugiens and Pézerolles, I have recently added wines from Rebourgeon Mure, Launay-Horiot and Chantal Lescure.
This article will address why the style may have changed, discussing the character of Pommard, changes in vinification, the nature of clay and limestone soils, and climate change.
Pommard’s popularity, character and diversity
Structured wines like Pommard were highly demanded in the 1960s along with communes like Aloxe-Corton. Its fortunes thereafter declined and it became relatively unfashionable, while, for example, the more delicate Chambolle-Musigny and the more velvety Vosne-Romanée became more popular.
The character of communes is often a broad generalisation which conceals considerable variations and diversity of styles. Chambolle-Musigny is perhaps thought of as fine, elegant, understated and mineral, based on the style of wine from a vineyard with limestone soil such as Les Cras, yet the structured wines of the clay-based terres rouges parts of Bonnes Mares are polar opposites. Nuits-Saint-Geoges is a commune of two halves. Its reputation for powerful tannic wines is based on vineyards to the south of the village, such as Les Saint-Georges, Vaucrains and Les Pruliers; yet the vineyards to the north on the Vosne-Romanée border, like Boudots, Cras and Murgers, are planted on more limestone-based soils and the wines are finer, softer and more velvety.
So it is with Pommard. Pommard is thought of as a firm and structured wine made from vineyards on predominantly clay soils. This is perhaps true of its most famous vineyards on the hillside to the south of the village clustering around Les Rugiens, including Chaponnières and Poutures. However, as in most communes, the higher-altitude, mostly village vineyards, at the top of the slope are on thinner soils, often eroded by water, and are very close to the limestone bedrock, and produce quite fresh and mineral styles.
North of the village, there are more alluvial and limestone soils produced over many millennia by what was a substantial river. Some of these reach quite low down on the slope and include the Clos des Epeneaux. The soils of Clos des Epeneaux combine a reddish marl with limestone debris over a limestone bedrock, producing a wine that combines elegance and power. Les Pézerolles has a predominantly limestone soil with some sand and produces a pretty, fine-boned style.
The characteristics of clay and limestone soils
Most Burgundies are grown on soils that are a mixture of clay and limestone soils.
Clay soils are cold and so vine growth and berry maturation are slower. Their high cation exchange capacity means that they are able to retain essential nutrients like potassium, calcium and magnesium, preventing them from being leached away. Potassium is critical for sugar and starch formation, while nitrogen contributes to the development of pigments and aromatic precursors in the berry.
Iron, found in Pommard Rugiens and Clos des Epeneaux, alters the clay structure, making it more friable and porous, which assists with drainage in normally heavy, water-retentive clay soils. Moderate iron supply improves photosynthesis, providing more energy and sugar for synthesising secondary metabolites, which results in higher colour intensity, higher flavonoid content (anthocyanins, flavonols) and enhanced tannins in the grape skins.
Limestone soils have an ideal, sponge-like water holding capacity, retaining a certain amount but allowing excess to drain away avoiding waterlogging. By contrast with clay, the high pH of limestone soils affects the availability of certain nutrients and can limit their uptake. This mild nutrient deficiency naturally produces medium to low vigour growth and a moderate crop, ideal for high-quality wines. The high pH can cause iron deficiency, which can limit colour and tannin development in red wines. It also reduces the uptake of potassium, which allows greater retention of tartaric acidity in wine by lessening the likelihood of potassium bi-tartrate precipitation.
An ideal mix of soils for high-quality viticulture
In Burgundy, there is generally a variable mix of differing proportions and depths of clay and limestone soils. The Côte d’Or is a complex rift valley, with many faults in the rock, where the underlying limestone bedrock can be closer to or more distant from the surface soils. Thus there are differing proportions of clay and limestone found in the vineyards. Rivers cut the escarpment in various places and their alluvial fan can affect the soil composition. Outcropping of rock at the top of the slope results in the higher vineyards often having more limestone-dominated soils. Water erosion washes some limestone down the slope. It carries the lighter clay particles furthest down the slope and they accumulate in the lower parts where there are generally more vineyards classed as Bourgogne. In the mid-slope, there is often a judicious mix of clay and limestone soils where the best grands and premiers crus vineyards are usually found.
Clay-limestone soils could be said to be an ideal mix of water-retaining capacity, mineral content and fertility, averaging out the benefits and drawbacks of each soil. Furthermore, limestone encourages flocculation in clay soils, producing a more friable texture, reducing density and ‘stickiness’. The creation of ‘crumbs’ creates pore spaces that allow water to drain away from vine roots during wet periods, preventing waterlogging. It also ensures oxygen can enter the soil, supporting healthy roots and microorganisms.
Marl is common in Burgundy. It is a sedimentary soil composed primarily of clay, calcium carbonate (limestone) and sometimes sand. These soils are derived from ancient, shallow, warm seas from the Jurassic period, often containing 35–65% clay and 65–35% carbonate, making it a ‘soft rock’.
Clay for pinot noir and limestone for chardonnay
Generally, when clay dominates the mix, pinot noir is planted, which emphasises colour and structure. Conversely, limestone-dominated soils produce higher-acid, lower-colour wines which are better suited to white wines.
Pinot noir planted in soils with more limestone produce lighter-coloured, red-fruited, mineral wines with fresh acidity, like Saint-Aubin or parts of Volnay like Caillerets. White wines planted in clay soils produce richer, rounder, softer white wines, such as Chassagne-Montrachet’s Morgeot.
Why might global warming be favouring Pommard?
The colder and wetter clay-based soils found in parts of Pommard were disadvantageous in, say, the 1950s, when harvest took place in October, running the gauntlet of autumn rains. Such soils delayed maturity when earlier ripening was advantageous. Cold soils retard growth, and wetter soils compound the problem by increasing yield which further delays ripening. This meant the grapes struggled to achieve sufficient ripeness, and in the worst cases contained ‘green’, astringent tannins. This character is then exacerbated by the high acidity also found in grapes of sub-optimal ripeness. In grapes that are already high in tannins, such as in Pommard, this could produce dry and rustic wines.
In today’s warmer and drier climate, however, it’s advantageous to delay ripening and have more water-holding capacity; so clay soils are well suited to the current direction of climate change. Sweeter tannins and ripe fruit now produce a richer and better-balanced style of Pommard.
Changes in vinification
Demand has grown for an elegant, perfumed, silky or velvety style of Burgundy. Given Pommard’s propensity to produce grapes with highish phenolic composition, it is possible to manage and moderate the amount and quality of tannins by selecting appropriate equipment and vinification methods.
The introduction of sorting tables and improvement in crusher-destemmers have improved the quality of the grapes entering the fermentation vats. A further substantial improvement in the quality and texture of tannins has also occurred following changes in the method of loading the fermentation vats. The replacement of pompe de vendage (grape pump) or vis sans fin (auger) with a giraffe or inclined conveyor belt has reduced harsh tannins produced by the grinding of skins and crushing of pips.
Carefully practised whole-bunch fermentation tends to produce a more elegant style of wine because there is less extraction of tannins from skins and pips. Alternatively, virtually intact whole berries produced by modern destemmers can be introduced into the vats without crushing which offers many of the benefits of whole bunch fermentation without the negative aspects of the stems, which can absorb colour, release potassium which reduces acidity and contribute excessive green characters if the stems are extremely unripe. Less punching down and more gentle pumping over also allows extraction of the finer tannin fractions and reduces the more rustic ones.
Conclusion
Thus climate change is producing richer, riper tannins in Pommards. Winemakers are also moderating tannin extraction in their vinification choices and the market is seeking balanced wines with silky or velvety tannins. The stars are aligning!
