2018 Michel Bouzereau & Fils Pommard Les Cras

Michel Bouzereau et Fils in Meursault has been in the Bouzereau family for seven generations. Michel ran the estate until the mid-1990s, when his son Jean-Baptiste joined the family venture full-time. Today Jean-Baptiste is in charge and the estate has grown to 27 acres with parcels in Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Pommard, Volnay and Beaune. Most of the wines are Premier Cru and 85% are white. Grapes are harvested by hand.

Pommard is a relatively large appellation of 1,655 vineyard acres just a few miles south of Beaune. Though it has no Grands Crus, Pommard’s 28 Premiers Crus are generally well regarded. The appellation produces only red wine, and wine writers often note that despite Pommard’s proximity to both Beaune and Volnay, its wines are very different from the Pinot Noirs produced in neighboring appellations. Robert M. Parker Jr. wrote that “The top Pommards are full-bodied, chunky, muscular, fleshy wines that impress one more for their power and expansive, mouth filling texture than for pure finesse.” The most famous Premiers Crus are Les Epenots and Les Rugiens.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.