2003 Joseph Voillot Pommard Les Rugiens

Domaine Joseph Voillot is in Volnay. The 25-acre estate has been owned and operated by the Voillot family for five generations. Today it is run by Jean Pierre Charlot, son-in-law of Joseph Voillot. The estate has Premier Cru parcels in Volnay, Pommard and Meursault, as well as village parcels. There are estate cellars in Volnay and Pommard. Clive Coates notes that Charlot, a trained oenologist, “makes very good wines.”

Les Rugiens is really two vineyards. Les Rugiens-Hauts, or “upper,” is a 16-acre Premier Cru vineyard and Les Rugiens-Bas, or “lower,” is a 14.5-acre Premier Cur vineyard just below it. Both are in the Pommard appellation in Burgundy’s Cote de Beaune, just south of the village. Since there are no Grand Crus in Pommard, the Premier Crus have special importance. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “Pommard at its best is the fullest wine made in the Cote de Beaune.”

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.