- Wines You Will Look Back and Cry for Not Buying More
2019 Vintage
- Incredibly High Quality
- 50% the Number of Bottles
- Top Wines in This Vintage Will Be Very Hard to Source at Retail
The Style (Important)
- Style Is Polished Traditional
- Terrific Elegance
- Stunningly Sensual Levels of Fruit
- Perfect Balance
- Incredible Palate Presence, Intensity and Thrust
- Among the Most Delicious Wines We Sell
Our New Burgundy Prodigy
- Raised in the Vineyards
- His First Vintage at 18
- Amazing Wines at 18 Years of Age. 18.
- The French Have Bought Almost All of Their Wines
- Style Is Less Rustic, Very Elegant, Amazing, Amazing Fruit
- Some of the Most Delicious Wines in Burgundy, Bar None
You Will Want to Pop One of These at a Tasting in 10 Years when Whitehead is Famous ... And He Will Be
2019 Domaine Rebourgeon Pommard "La Vache 1902"
- The Best non 1er Cru Pommard I've Ever Had
- Very, Very Low Yields (no more than 24 hl/ha)
- Some of the Oldest Vines in Pommard
- Powerful, Dense and Concentrated
- Length that Even Approaches Grand Cru Wines
- Only 300 Bottles Made
- Amazing Nose - Psychotic Complexity
- Just Beauty and Haunting Intensity
- Rocks and Raspberry
- Incredible Spice and Minerality
- Stoney Sauvage
- Deep Cherry Fruit
- Dark Blackberry Fruit, Boysenberry, Black Raspberry
- Impossibly Complex
- Very Very Floral, Dark Violets, Dark Roses
- Massive Levels of Explosive Pure Fruit
- Dark Black Cherry
- Super Stoney Minerals
- Insane Inner Mouth Aromas
- Violets and Black Cherries
- Finish: Almost a Moebius Strip of a Finish
- VERY LIMITED
2019 Domaine Rebourgeon Pommard 1er Cru "Les Arvelets"
- Slightly Larger Production Than Pezerolles: Fewer Than 41 Cases Made
- Gorgeous Refined Tannins & Structure
- Nose: Gorgeous Sappy Red Cherries, Loads of Spice, Ethereal/Layered
- A Floral Cornucopia
- Truly Masterful/Incredible Florals/Pastilles
- Minerals
- Palate: Superb Fruit Density, Insanely Perfect Fruit
- Terrific Finesse and Elegance & Big Stoney Ripe Tannins
- Remarkable Depth and Thrust, but So Linear and Pure
- Gorgeous Finish: Cherry Flower, Spice, Raspberry
- Drinking Now with a Decant
- Will Be Better in 5 years. Will Age 10-15 Years
I have a customer who drinks elite wines from all over the world pretty much every night. And he's famously pithy in his Delectable comments - it's hard to get him excited (at least on Delectable). So for him to call a winemaker a genius is quite something.
The word is starting to get out among the customer base that these wines are stunning. Some of the most delicious wines in Burgundy, bar none.
And by none, I mean none.
These wines are very complex and elegant, but not at the level of the greatest wines in Burgundy.which cost well in excess of a thousand dollars a bottle). But in terms of pure palate impact and fruit, these are very hard / impossible to beat - there really is no higher level.
Oh My God! What Was I Thinking?!?
There are certain things you look back on in your life and ask yourself, "what was I thinking?" It was so obvious that this asset was a screaming value at that price. Why didn't I buy it?!?
I am selling today one of the most delicious wines in Burgundy. It was made by a 22 year old. It is stunningly well made. Stunningly.
A 22 year old!
Please think about this for a second. Winemakers improve dramatically over the first decade or so of their careers. William is already better than 95% of the winemakers in Burgundy of any age.
Do you think that these wines are going to be stunning values given that through me they are bottom of the barrel prices for 1er Cru Burgundy? Will they be wines you want to pour in 10 years?
Amazon at $18
Bitcoin at $3,000
Netflix at $15.
Rebourgeon at $58...
The wines are selling out in France and I have a very small allocation.
That's all I have to say.
The 2019 Vintage
This is the most complex vintage I've been associated with since we opened Fass Selections. First the quality is extremely high. All my winemaking partners and all the critics seem to agree. Second, quantities are down 50-60%. I have to reserve all the top wines before I taste them. To summarize:
VERY HIGH QUALITY
VERY SMALL QUANTITIES
Below is a great Burghound comment on 2019.
"With respect to other vintages that 2019 might reasonably resemble, somewhat surprisingly, growers nominated relatively few unique vintages, meaning a direct comparison with only one. Most, at least among those who proffered an opinion, did so by invoking two vintages, such as part 2009 and part 2010, or part 2015 and part 2016 or even a blend of 2017 and 2018. The idea behind these hypothetical blends is combining a ripe and generous vintage with one that is finer and more transparent. I would go with half 2009 and half 2010, as 2019 offers the richness and generosity of the former with the finesse, punch and gorgeous terroir definition of the latter. If I had to choose just one vintage with which to compare 2019, I would have to go way back in time to 1966 or even 1949." - Burghound
William made stunning 19s but his quantities are 50-60% down from 2018. There are 4-5 wines that he is not letting anyone taste as he only has a few hundred bottles of each. Each bottle is valuable revenue and profit during a global pandemic during a highly desirable and very low yielding vintage. I'd do the same thing.
The Style: Intoxicatingly Sensual and Original VERY IMPORTANT
The aromatics on these wines are absolutely among the most sensual and sexy of any wines I've had. They are elegant but man there is this sweet delicious fruit on them that you can't believe. It tickles and
envelops the nostrils. The secondary flavors live around the edge of that gorgeous fruit. Some wines have lilacs, some blackberry flower, some a hint of licorice or spice. But it's on the back of that sensual fruit.
envelops the nostrils. The secondary flavors live around the edge of that gorgeous fruit. Some wines have lilacs, some blackberry flower, some a hint of licorice or spice. But it's on the back of that sensual fruit.
This is a contrast to a more traditional style of Burgundy where the fruit and aromatics are more bound together on a line and you have to sort of mentally say "oh there's the fruit" and "oh, there's the lilac." Here the fruit just seduces you right off the bat.
The palate is in a similar vein. You get that spectacular fruit but balanced with perfect levels of acidity to keep it fresh and vibrant. The fruit is so so so so clean. It almost feels like essence of the fruit (blackberry, cherry, depending on the wine) that was passed through a distillery to concentrate, purify it and remove any impurities. The wines all have terrific intensity and palate thrust. Again - these are not shy wines and not what you might think of as the classic Burgundy of 20 years ago. But they are a faithful and beautiful representation of Burgundian Pinot Noir.
You know that you will want to pop one of these in 10 years when Whitehead is famous and you can say that he made this at the age of 22.
The Wines
Up first is the second most expensive wine in the lineup. This wine is like the Pommard version of the old Garaudet Monthelie "Les Mons Helios" I used to sell. It's the utterly brilliant 2019 Domaine Rebourgeon Pommard "La Vache 1902" for $64.99 a bottle on a 3-pack. This wine is absolutely stunning and the best non 1er Cru Pommard I've ever had, obviously but it competes with 1er Cru's 2-3-4 times the price. It's insane. Don't miss this. It's an ancient parcel of Pommard village from the lieu-dit "La Vache," which was planted in 1902 by William's ancestors just after re phylloxera crisis. The vines are located half way up slopes in 1er Cru quality called "Marne Blanches" and it always has very, very low yields of no more than 24 hl/ha. This are some of the oldest vines in Pommard. The value play here cannot be overstated. The wine is powerful, dense and concentrated with length that even approaches Grand Cru length. In 2019 it has added a level of finesse that makes it even more compelling. It is situated on the hillside of Pommard with the same altitude of Rugiens. Only 300 bottles made.
Amazing nose. Just beauty and haunting intensity. And you can tell by the color this is going to be an unreal wine. Dark as night but still has an opacity as this is Pinot. All rocks and raspberry and those rocks are pulverized. Incredible spice and minerality. Deep and penetrating aromas. Feral and animal as well but such a clean sauvage. A stoney sauvage. Some deep cherry fruit but this cuvee always needs a few hours to get going. Then it gets going! Spice, mint and mineral. So perfumed. Dark blackberry fruit. Some boysenberry, black raspberry and gobs and gobs of black cherries. Licorice. After air it gets confectionary and impossibly complex with even some leather and truffle which will multiply over time. It's layered and nuanced and perfumed almost like an actual Rugiens. But it's different. It's very, very floral but dark violets. Dark roses. Like pungent winter flowers. Just amazing. Smoke. A nose on par with the top 1er Crus in Pommard. Sickness. The Burgundy symphony in full effect. It's so complex and keeps revealing stuff. You'll lose your olfactory senses. It got that polished classicism that I love in Burgundy.
Palate is intensely concentrated with huge grip, freshness and such explosive pure fruit. So sappy. Immense wine but graceful and refined and not impenetrable. Deep, dark black cherry fruit and awesome texture and freshness. Black cherry fruit that is teeming with energy and slathered with super stoney minerals. Exquisite balance and so so mineral. Amazing stoniness which is what Pommard is about. Really dense but also transparent and elegant. Huge ripe and chewy tannins that exude stoniness and black cherry fruit with a red cherry top note. Explosive and long finish. Insane inner mouth aromas that bring in the violets and black cherries. It's so intensely flavored only like great Pommard can be. It's brawny and refined but the vivid detail of the fruit is incredible. Black cherry, black raspberry, bitter cocoa, so many minerals and even a hint of very fine high quality leather. Smokey and ultra deep with a purity and suavity that is just unreal. I have a client who visited William at the Domaine a few years ago and was blown away by this wine. Rightfully so. It's so mouthfiling and vibrant with gorgeous refined texture but also a hint of wild rusticity which got more refined in 2018. It's got power and grace. The tannins are fine, velvety and ripe with plenty of them. They are fine-grained and powerful and will ensure a long life. As serious a Pommard as is being made today. Beautiful inner mouth aromas and awesome power, depth and concentration while retaining incredible balance. Big, substantial stoney tannins on the finish pump out black cherry fruit. Finish is minutes long. As this airs it gets sweet and more mouthfilling.
The finish is the best part. Longer than almost any other 2019s i've tasted. It goes on and on and winds down your palate and just when you think it's over it begins again. Almost a Moebius strip of a finish. There is a clarity and vivacity here normally reserved for much more grander wines wines and this proves that William Whitehead is a force to be reckoned with. The kid is 22! How does he do it? This is brilliant and limited. I think this can age 15-20 years.
Next up is the 2019 Michel Rebourgeon Pommard 1er Cru "Les Arvelets" for $59.99 a bottle on a 3-pack. Les Arvelets is relatively small at 8 hectares but does border the great Les Charmots that William also farms but could not be more different. This is the steepest vineyard in the appellation and the soil is rich in iron oxide, alluvium and silt. It also has Clos des Verger as a neighbor which is a very fine and rare site that our old producer Billard-Gonnet made as well. Arvelets means "Ancient French Field." I have only 60 bottles of this.
Nose is ethereal and layered. Redcurrant, blackcurrant, soil tones and so complex. Cherry and cherry flower but it is so lacey and nuanced. Gorgeous. Incredible florals. Pastille. Sweet raspberry. Just stunning. So delicate. Some BBQ and smoke as well. After some air the nose is crazy. Such detail. Mid season cherries, huge stoney minerality, cherry flower and licorice. Really elegant and ethereal. The nose gets crazier and crazier as it opens. More layered and more detailed. OMG this is so juicy and complex. Beautiful tannins. On day 2 it was even better. Ethereal, layered, stoney and superbly complex.
Palate has a painfully sweet intensity and incredible concentration yet remains light on its feet. Gorgeous purity and wonderful ripe tannins. Wow the freshness in this wine is off the charts. Stunning depth and sweetness and unreal clarity to the fruit. Dense and structured but also elegant and sappy. Wow. This is a true wow wine. Amazing fruit presence. After air nose gets crazy floral with roses and violets. Terrific concentration, structure and density allied with freshness. This is outrageous. Wow. Totally crazy, long finish. Genius wine. This is not as initially tannic as the 2018 and could need some time in the cellar. Maybe 3-5 years. But it did drink well for me on pop and pour only to firm up after 2 hours. On day 2, palate I was juicy, intense and wow what tiny berry fruit intensity. Sweet with insane freshness and density. So pure, and mineral. What a wine. So long and what a stoney finish. Awesome. Amazing intensity and sweetness.
2019 Domaine Rebourgeon Pommard "La Vache 1902" - $66.99
($194.97 3-Pack)
2019 Domaine Rebourgeon Pommard 1er Cru "Les Arvelets" - $61.99 ($179.97 3-Pack)
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