Inviting bright, dark red. Wild red berries, menthol, peppery herbs and a hint of leather on the slightly medicinal nose. Quite silky in texture but dry and youthfully withdrawn in the early going, with its herb and earth qualities currently keeping the red fruits under wraps. This juicy, soil-driven wine displays excellent definition and cut and finishes with smooth tannins but is a bit unforthcoming today in spite of its subtle sweetness and sexy salinity.

Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2014 tasting, Faiveley's 2014 Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens leans more toward red than black fruit, hints of tobacco and damp earth emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with stalky red berry fruit and a noticeable trace of Japanese nori that develops toward the finish and perhaps manifests on the nose after aeration. This is an intriguing Pommard, one not without its merits. Tasted September 2017.