In most vintages, there are three distinct cuvees that make up the final blend for the flagship Pommard Clos des Epeneaux, but in 2012 there are just two. The first cuvee, from the top of the vineyard, is intensely tannic and structured. Floral notes lead to dark red cherries and crushed rocks in a wine that is all about crystalline purity and delineation. The second cuvee, from the bottom of the hill, presents more depth and volume. A representation of the final blend is striking. Sadly, the entire production will be bottled only in magnums, of which there will be just 4,000 to go around, versus the normal production of about 22,000 bottles. Readers who can find the 2012 should not hesitate, as it is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage.

(I tasted two components, the first from compact bedrock and the second from fractured rock, mostly at the top of the holding, then an approximation of the final blend; there is no longer a young-vines cuvee and no more Pommard 1er Cru bottling as the youngest vines here are now 27 years old; 12 hectoliters per hectare, or one-third of a normal crop): Bright, full red. Sexy, complex nose melds raspberry, redcurrant, iron and a soupcon of chocolate. Hugely rich and mouthfilling, with red fruit flavors complicated by wild herbs and salty minerality and nicely framed by harmonious acidity. In a very ripe style but with plenty of serious tannins for support. Finishes with extraordinary palate-coating solidity. Leroux told me this wine would be bottled in magnums--"and larger."

An exceptionally fresh and relatively elegant nose features notes of various red berries, earth and a discreet spiciness. There is a beguiling mouth feel to the medium-bodied, concentrated and powerful flavors that are shaped by very firm yet ripe tannins on the palate coating finish that is sneaky long. Note that the suggested initial drinking window is based on magnum format. Drink 2030+.

– Burghound.com, Issue 54. Tasted: Apr 2014

Much deeper crimson than most 2012 reds. This is constructed differently with real fruit intensity. I suspect the yields were minuscule with every grape given a welcome ceremony on entering the cave. It's still a little brutal, the way this wine usually is, but it is clearly exceptional. To say there is effort here would be an understatement. Long. (JR)