Domaine du Château de Puligny-Montrachet Pommard 2011: Dark ruby-red color; red berries, blackberry, cassis, violets nose;
cranberry, blackberry, plum, strawberry, spice on the palate. Not your standard Pommard that flaunts burly, tannic pinot noir rusticity; rather, clean with light body, disciplined fruit, ripe, integrated tannin—puckery on the finish (a reminder this is Pommard), minerality, good acidity, flirts with femininity, as pinot seductively can do. The initial pour out of the bottle was disappointing, bit disjointed without wow, not what you expect from $50ish pour from Pommard; then air and patience relaxes things and expectations shift, and this wine’s refined elegance happily glides to the fore. Picture an awkward teenage girl maturing into a refined beauty, a chrysalis into a butterfly. Decant, give it some time to adjust to life outside of the bottle. Pommard is a commune in the Côte-d’Or (Golden Slope) department of Burgundy, one of the premier wine regions of the world (also famous for mustard—Dijon comes from the region). Pommard is in the southern part of the Côte d’Or, which puts it into the upper-middle-class of the vineyards rather than among the snooty Grand Cru elites, but that’s why you can buy this for a Grant rather than several Benjamins. Pommard typically makes among the most tannic and full-bodied wines in the Côte-d’Or; Puligny-Montrachet proves you can play the contrarian card and succeed. Be patient. Be gentle. She will come around and bewitchingly reward you. $45-59
