- Old Rugiens Can Compete with Anything in Burgundy
- I Had a 64 Rugiens That Is Alongside Some DRC's as Best in My Life
2019 Domaine Michel Rebourgeon Pommard 1er Cru Rugiens
- A Dramatic Leap in Quality Over the Very Good 2018
- It Is a Matter of Tme Before Rebourgeon's William Whitehead Is Recognized As a Top 20 Winemaker in Burgundy
- There is Not a Better Value in Top Class Pommard-Rugiens on the Market
- Nose: Outrageously Complex
- Deep Perfectly Ripened Mid Season Cherries
- A Background of Stoniness and Super Minerality
- Palate: Beyond Brilliant
- So Stoney and Floral
- Stunning Finesse and Elegance for a Wine This Powerful
- Palate Cling Is Beyond Belief
- Serious Structure and Major Sap Explosion on the Finish
- This Wine Is a "Beyond" Wine - So Great and So Distinctively Great You Can't Believe You Are Drinking It
- Will Last 25+ Years
William has More Wine Beyond My Allocation BUT He is Busy With the 2021 Meager But High Quality Harvest, So I Don't Know How Much More.
As many of you know, the Eroica was Beethoven's 3rd symphony. His first 2 symphonies are very well done but not really a major stylistic departure from the work of Beethoven's predecessors. The Eroica really places Beethoven on the map as one of humanity's great composers.
The first movement starts off with a "BAMP! BAMP!" It continues with a soft section that builds and builds and builds. And eventually, you reach a crescendo. And at this point, you realize that the first movement has officially begun. And it gets crazier from there. There are moments of gorgeous almost chaotic beauty. Like thunder in the middle of a sun shower on a spring day with flowers in bloom. The order of classical music that had proceeded up until Mozart has been trashed and thrown away, and something that must have appeared to be lawless anarchy to German audiences at the time has been thrust upon the world in all its epic glory. The Eroica is a simply masterpiece and a shining example of human achievement.
Today I bring you young William Whitehead’s Eroica. His previous wines have been merely delicious and incredibly well made. They were complex but in an ordered fashion. The wines were about the ridiculously pure blackberry fruit and over the top deliciousness.
Today's wine is a dramatic leap over the very good 2018. There is unlimited depth here. Almost like looking over the edge over a coral wall in the ocean. There is a harmoniousness. A complexity. This wine kicks young William into a place where it is only a matter of time before he will be recognized as a top 20 winemaker in Burgundy. He is still in his early 20s.
Pommard Rugiens
Take a gander at how much Billard-Gonnet Pommards are now since they have been taken over by a 3-tier distribution. North of $100. I sold for $60. This is an incredible vineyard and for me is the Grand Cru Of Pommard and is almost like a Richebourg of Pommard. Rugiens will age longer than most of us and likely more gracefully.
Rugiens is muscular, due to the iron in the soil, spicy and can age for decades. I've walked the vineyard. It is very rocky with poor soil and the vines need to struggle to get nutrients. Perfect for making tiny high quality berries.
Old Rugiens can compete with anything in Burgundy. Anything. Billard Gonnet pulled out a 64 Rugiens one visit that is next to some DRC's as the best wines I've ever had in my life.
The Wine
Today's wine is my favorite Pommard 1er Cru, the 2019 Domaine Michel Rebourgeon Pommard 1er Cru Rugiens for $72.99 a 3-pack. This is an insane new entry into the Rugiens sweepstakes and there is not a better value in top class Pommard-Rugiens in the market. Their plot is .17 hectares. This is classic Rugiens and will age for 25+ years. It can be drunk after 3-4 hours or 24 hours but really you should wait on this for optimal results. William's 19 Rugiens has the stuff. It is packed and will be a future legend.
The top wine at Rebourgeon and this may be the best wine he’s ever made.
The nose is outrageously complex. Just sick. Insane. So complex and deep. Cherry flower, spice cake, pulverized stones, licorice, mid to late season cherry and spice. Unreal complexity. So harmonious. But this 9.6 nose is still holding back. That’s what elite vineyards do. Superb aromas after air of deep stoniness that only Rugiens can bring. Floral, woodsy and spicey as well. Black cherry pastille. Complex. Unfurling. Black cherry. End of season cherries. Outrageous nose after air. 9.7 ish.
Gorgeous purity of fruit on the palate and wonderful finesse and freshness. Very elegant. Chewy and dense but really light on its feet. Awesome fruit stamp on the palate. Sticks with you. Terrific concentration and power and sweet, ripe and stoney tannins. Superb depth. Sappy and so serious. Elite Rugiens. Terrific finish and picks up complexity as it airs. Needs a few hours, days, years, decades to unwind. Will be a great trip.
Day 2
Crazy deep perfectly ripened mid season cherries. They are so pure, so vivid and smell more cherry than actual cherry. Mid, late, black and ripe cherries and a sense of insane juiciness. All of this is on a background of stoniness and super minerality. After air it gets going. Superb nose of deep stoniness that only Rugiens can bring. Floral, woodsy and spicy as well. Black cherry pastille. Complex. Unfurling. Black cherry.
The palate is beyond brilliant. Classic Rugiens. Wow, that is super elite. Just so elegant. One of the most elegant wines I’ve ever had from William if not the most elegant. This is only giving 15% of itself but that 15% is stunning. A sphere on the palate. So balanced, so much synergy. Stoney, floral, fruity and endless depth. Going deep in the ocean. Dense, powerful, concentrated and so, so sappy. Insanely pure. Juicy and balanced like a rhinonocerous on a tightrope. You can sniff this nose as hard as possible and it still gives off unlimited depth. Palate is also a 9.7 but has so much room to improve. Super long with serious structure and a major sap explosion on the finish. Gorgeous purity of fruit on the palate and wonderful finesse and freshness. Very elegant. Chewy and dense but really light on its feet. Unreal sweet fruit and wonderful slippery character. Tannins, acid and fruit all in perfect harmony. Just a stunning bottle of Rugiens and the best bottle of wine young William has made so far. The wine coats your mouth and stays there forever. It becomes a part of your mouth. The tannins are firm and glorious. About as epic a wine as one can taste. The finish keeps pumping the fruit. Amazing.
This is a 25+ year wine. No contest. Just terrific. The essence of Burgundian power wrapped in velvety finesse. This will blow minds down the roads. Wait 10 years and enjoy over next 15. Only 300 bottles.
2019 Domaine Rebourgeon Pommard Rugiens 1er Cru - $74.99 ($218.97 3-Pack) (VERY LIMITED/ALLOCATED)
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