Domaine Thierry Violot-Guillemard Pommard 1er ‘Les Épenots’ 2017

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

The stars have aligned and this wine is singing! Vibrant on the nose and palace, with layers of ripe red fruit, pepper, and earthy minerality. It delivers structurally too: with silky tannins, bright acidity and juicy fruit, this is a seriously drinkable Burg that still provides plenty of nuance, character and complexity. Run – don’t walk!

Madeleine Horrigan

Want to deep dive into the Village of Pommard? Check the Wine Bites Mag article “Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 6 – The Reds of Pommard from the Côte de Beaune”

About Thierry Violot-Guillemard

Importer, Euan’s story of discovering this 5th generation Domaine is one of Serendipity. After too many stays in bland hotels visiting Burgundy a local suggested staying at Thierry and Estelle’s B&B. Eventually, the question was raised “When are you going to try our wines?” Well Euan’s reaction was the same as mine after my first taste a set of 2016 & 2017 Premier Crus: Rugien, Epenots, Platiere, Derriere Clos St Jean … How much can I have? The wines are delicious. Divine perfumes and stunning tannin’s that are fine, plush and beautifully played. Great harmony across the full set of wines. Vineyards back to 1936.

These wines are a revelation!

There is often a misconception that wines from Pommard are brutish, structured and will need decades to even be approachable. Like most things in life, mass generalisation does no one any favours. Thierry’s wines drink beautifully as a young Burgundy, as always the metamorphisis that occurs with great Burgundy requires patience.

I have been an admirer of Domaine Thierry Violot-Guillemard since I discovered their wines by chance as a student, and while this small six-hectare estate still flies under the radar, it’s only a matter of time until it becomes better known. Classical winemaking, sometimes incorporating a percentage of whole cluster, followed by long élevage, is the order of the day, Thierry Violot-Guillemard emphasizing that he makes his wines exactly as his father did. His son Joannes, who now takes an active role at the domaine, has refined some of the cooperage choices while happily remaining true to the house style. Readers who admire age-worthy, complex Côte de Beaune reds should beat a path to this address. 

William Kelley

If you have a splash of French have a swing at watching the 🎥 film below.

In the Vineyard

Great wines can only come from the best grapes. This is why I take such great care in tilling my land. My vineyards have been under organic management since 1999.

As a proud successor of my ancestors’ heritage, I want to keep my terroir healthy so its quality can be appreciated in each of my wines.

The way I make my wine truly reflects my terroir: no yeasting, no reverse osmosis, not too many technical interventions, and not too much wood so as not to alter the taste of the wine.

I love the delicacy and the elegance, the ageing chardonnay, the distinctive pinot and above all, the fun!

Thierry

In the Winery

So … blah blah blah, grapes come in wine comes out blah blah blah. Hard to know really what’s going on from a technical perspective without having more of a chat with the crew in the winery. Two things are clear the philosophy is about restraint and expression of fruit and whatever is happening in the vineyard is working. Thierry is slowly transitioning responsibility to his son Joannes and we hear that a few things are shifting subtly. With fruit like this it will be fascinating to watch the evolution of the Domaine.

The 2017 Vintage at Thierry Violot-Guillemard

Thierry Violot was much more upbeat about the 2017 growing season than he was regarding its 2016 counterpart, enthusiastically noting that “we finally made some wine! The season, other than a frost scare, was really pretty easy to manage and we sailed into the harvest, which for us began on the 3rd of September. The harvest conditions were excellent and the fruit was clean and ripe and thus we were able to pick quickly. Yields were generous for us as I don’t remember the last time we realized anything close to the 45 hl/ha that we brought in. The clean and ripe fruit also made the vinifications easy to manage as there were no worries about off odors or unripe tannins. As to the wines, their best attribute is their excellent balance and the second would be their outstanding transparency to the underlying terroir. I should point out that the 2017s are not particularly concentrated and they’re built on their fruit but in my view, they’re no less interesting for it.” As the ratings and commentaries confirm with only a few exceptions, Violot has done a fine job in 2017 and most of the wines merit your consideration as they should make for refreshing and satisfying drinking. Violot said that his 2017s were bottled in November and December 2018.

Burghound

Where in the World is Thierry Violot-Guillemard?

Domaine Thierry Violot-Guillemard is based in Pommard holding incredible parcels of old vines. They have additional holding in Meursault, Monthelie, Beaune. In recent times parcels under lease have been added from Pommard, Chassagne-Montrachet and Volnay.