2019 Domaine Lejeune 'Les Argillières' 1er Cru Pommard

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  • Premier Cru Bourgogne Rouge
  • Great Cellaring & Ageing Potential
  • Traditional Winemaking, Grapes Crushed by Foot
  • Family Owned & Operated Since 1783
  • Free Shipping on 6 or More Bottles 

About the Wine

This family Domaine traces its ancestry back as far as 1783. For five generations Domaine Lejeune passed from aunt to niece. The Domaine takes its name from Maxime Lejeune passed in 1864, but built the estate to over 50 acres. Today Domaine Lejeune is owned by the Jullien de Pommerol family. François Jullien de Pommerol (former oenology professor at Beaune's Lycée Viticole) takes charge of the wineyard and the winemaking.

Aubert Lefas is the current winemaker of Domaine Lejeune and can trace its history back as far as 1783. The 10 hectare Domaine has been passed down for 5 generations and is owned by the Jullien de Pommerol family, which Aubert married into. The red winemaking here can only be described as traditional. Open wooden vat fermentation, one of which, encircled by 17 hoops of white birch, isthe oldestof its kind in the entire Burgundy region.

The objective here is to fashion Pommard in the traditional style, with a solid potential for cellaring and aging. The method of vinification is highly original. Each vat is filled to about 20-40% of its volume, with whole clusters or bunches. These are trodden by foot to release enough juice for the alcoholic fermentation to begin, precipitated by the action of natural yeasts found in the atmosphere and on the bloom of the grape at harvest time. This phase of the alcoholic fermentation lasts 5-7 days and is called "semi-carbonic maceration" as many of the berries ferment whole, rather than as a pulp. The grapes are encouraged to macerate or steep as long as possible, to provide color and tannin, often taking 21-26 days between the time the wooden vats are filled to the time the wine is run off into barrel. The wines are neither fined nor filtered before bottling.

Tasting Notes: 100% Pinot Noir. Pointed and precise nose of red fruit, smoke, and chalk. Lots of red fruits in a forward, approachable style; herbs and leather notes add complexity. There is a pretty serious mineral structure apparent as you get to the finish but completely wrapped in ripe red fruits.

Reviews

This producer, with vineyards that are in the process of conversion to organic, has made a dense, richly structured wine. Generous black cherry fruits and ripe tannins promise plenty of aging. The property lies just up the slope from the Epenots vineyard. Drink from 2024. ~94 Wine Enthusiast 

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