An unusually high-toned nose also displays a touch of wood that sets off subtle lower register notes of earth and humus that carry over to the textured and relatively supple medium weight plus flavors that possess excellent dry extract levels that completely buffer the firm and dense tannins on the deep, long and sappy finish. Terrific quality here but again, for the patient.

(WA90-91+ points) Courcel's 2008 Pommard Grand Clos des Epenots unites an almost bitter concentration of fresh blackberry with a red-chalk typical sense of iron filings somehow so vivid that you could imagine fining this Pinot with a magnet. Plumbing the delicious depths of this wine is like tucking into a meld of blood pudding and black fruit compote. Peat, damp earth, and cherry pit accents add further fascination and complexity in a long finish. This is the most overtly, firmly tannic of the present collection, but its concomitant complexity and overall concentration lead me to anticipate that a dozen or more years of cellaring will prove rewarding. - David Schildknecht