The 2019 Pommard 1er Cru Clos de la Commaraine Monopole has turned out nicely, wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet berries, plums, exotic spices, raw cocoa, orange rind and peonies. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's supple and succulent, with melting tannins and a pretty core of fruit. This is a charming, immediate and open-knit Pommard that subverts dated stereotypes of the appellation.

The 2019 Pommard Clos de la Commaraine comes from the 3.75ha monopole that was bought in 2017 by Harvard professor Denise Dupré and Mark Nunelly, MD of Boston Capital fund. The wine is overseen by none other than Louis-Michel Liger-Belair who apparently has free rein over its production. It offers surprisingly light redcurrant and strawberry fruit on the nose, then gains more depth with aeration, revealing earthy, loamy aromas that distinguish it as a Pommard. The palate is well balanced with bright redcurrant and wild strawberry fruit, silky smooth in style (maybe a sign of Liger-Belair’s touch) with a harmonious finish. I would like to see more Pommard character evolve on the palate, but I am intrigued to see how this will develop in bottle.

Cask sample. Pale garnet. Remarkably ripe, sweet and heady on the nose. Sweet front palate and then sufficient acidity but surprisingly light in tannin for a premier cru Pommard. If tasting this blind, I'd be more likely to take this for a Volnay, it's so light-bodied and low in tannin. I'm sure everything will be thrown at this wine now that it is owned by the same owners as Leclerc Briant in Champagne. (This is their second vintage.) Lightly chalky but definitely fresh finish. (JR)