Domaine Launay-Horiot - Pommard 1er Cru 'Les Rugiens Bas' 2022 (750ml)

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Producer	Domaine Launay-Horiot
Country	France
Region	Burgundy
Subregion	Pommard
Varietal	Pinot Noir
Vintage	2022
Sku	39265
Size	750ml

 

BH

92-94

V

93-95

The iron-rich soils of Les Rugiens Bas shape one of Pommard's most distinguished terroirs, considered by many to be of Grand Cru quality. From a tiny 0.09-hectare parcel, Xavier Horiot practices lutte raisonnée (reasoned intervention) viticulture, carefully tilling the soils while minimizing treatments. The vineyard's southeastern exposure and optimal drainage from the iron-oxide-rich clay contribute to exceptional ripening conditions, allowing Horiot to craft wines of remarkable precision and depth.

This distinguished Premier Cru reveals the true essence of Pommard Pinot Noir through its meticulous vinification. Fresh raspberries and ripe cherries mingle with crushed stone minerality, while subtle notes of forest floor and wild herbs add complexity. The wine's structure shows impressive depth, with refined tannins developed through gentle extraction methods and careful oak aging. Following Horiot's philosophy of minimal intervention, native yeast fermentation and absence of fining or filtration preserve the wine's pure expression of its legendary terroir.

The 2022 Pommard Les Rugiens-Bas 1er Cru, matured in 50% new oak, has a lot of concentration on the nose: blackberry, wild strawberry, crushed rock and loamy aromas. The well-balanced palate has firm grip, lovely and precise, with wonderful detail towards the finish. Tasting this wine down in Xavier Horiot's cellar, I couldn't help thinking this is one of the best Pommard 2022s I have tasted. And it is. (N. Martin)

This is also cool, elegant and airy with its array of red cherry, dark currant, plum, violet and discreet spice wisps. There is excellent volume, minerality and a taut muscularity to the intensely mineral-driven larger-scaled flavors that conclude in a firmly austere, and firmly structured, long and beautifully balanced finale that should richly repay a decade plus of cellaring. One to buy if you can find it.

Producer Note: Current owner, and former French fighter pilot, Xavier Horiot briefly noted that the 2022 "growing season had everything necessary to be stressful, including a nearly fatal spring frost that we narrowly avoided as well as a massive June rainstorm that caused hail and huge flooding in Gevrey, yet in the end, we emerged pretty much unscathed. The flowering was fast and uniform and we saw the results at the harvest as maturities were uniform. Despite the season being extremely dry, we had just enough rain when the vines seemed to need it most to avoid the worst of it. We picked from the 26th of August and the fruit was essentially spotless. Yields were quite good at between 34 to 40 hl/ha with potential alcohols that averaged right at 13%. The vinifications were straightforward and I'm quite happy with how much the wines have improved during the élevage. While it's still early days, and while I'm not prepared to say that the 2022s are genuinely great, I feel confident in saying that they will be at a minimum, excellent." I'm in complete agreement with Launay's take on his wines as they do indeed seem exceptionally promising. Launay noted that the 2022s will be bottled without fining or filtration using the composite cork Diam 10.