Xavier Horiot, based in Pommard, but he also owns two cracking eponymous vineyards in Gevrey-Chambertin! It has taken him ten years to sort out ownership of this historical family estate and in that time it has shrunk from a sizeable ten hectares to just 4. However, the vineyards he has managed to hang on to are rather good ones. Just over half of the estate is made up of the monopole of Pommard ‘Perrières’, which is a superior village plot in the heart of Pommard. He also has some excellent small plots of Pommard 1er Cru, including some Les Rugiens, and then the cream on the cake, two great parcels of Latricières-Chambertin and Chambertin itself.

In terms of vinification Xavier is looking to be as gentle with his grapes as he can be, focussing on expressing the fruit and the terroir as naturally as possible. All the bunches are destemmed and undergo several days of cold maceration. Xavier prefers remontage (pumping over) to pigeage as he likes to keep the berries whole for as long as possible, thus allowing them to really develop their aromatic profile. New oak is well handled; 20% for the village wines, 30% for the 1ers Crus and 50% for the Grands Crus. There are a lot of old vines on the estate and they bring a natural intensity and concentration (low yields and small berries) to the wines, permitting Xavier to be über-gentle with his techniques. The result is a very impressive début, especially considering the decimation of Pommard due to hail. The wines are fragrant, balanced and charming. Powerful where they should be but also elegant in all the right places. Quite clearly they are well worth the long wait.