Domaine du Comte Armand, Pommard 1er Cru, Clos des Epeneaux 2006 6x75cl

90-92 Points, Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Cuvee #1, from vines between 20 and 24 years of age: Good medium red. Smoke, meat and redcurrant on the nose. Supple in the middle but with limited depth. A bit dry and in need of further refining. This juice will go into a second wine, says Leroux, who picked these vines early, then decided he wasn't happy with the ripeness level. He moved to Auxey-Duresses and then came back to the Clos, harvesting nine days later in good conditions, and with much better phenolic ripeness. Cuvee #2, from vines averaging 35 years of age: Good medium red. Aromatic nose offers redcurrant, cherry, leather, spices and a whiff of white pepper. Bright, sharply focused and perfumed in the mouth, with lovely purity and ripeness. Finishes with excellent life and lift. Cuvee #3, from vines averaging 55 years old: Good medium-deep red. Precise aromas of black cherry, minerals and licorice. Riper and deeper than the younger vines, with an intriguing saline element contributing to the sappy character of this rather serious sample. Finishes with fine tannins and excellent persistence. Cuvee #4, from the oldest vines: Good deep red. Deep, brooding, soil-inflected aromas of red berries, mocha and licorice, plus a faint lactic note due to the recent end to the malolactic fermentation. At once suave and chewy, with pronounced mineral and spice notes. Here the soil character is stronger than the variety. Finishes very long, ripe and airy, with an intriguing flinty nuance and lovely lift. An approximate blend of cuvees 2, 3 and 4: Good deep red. Redcurrant, cherry, leather and spicy oak, complicated by smoky, truffley earth notes. Sweet, dense and rich but at the same time bright and aromatic, with lovely inner-palate energy. Broad but light on its feet, with a sappy character to its subtle flavors of red fruits, spices and minerals. The finish coats the teeth with flavor. Leroux says this is evolving very slowly, but I suspect it could support a fairly early bottling. A very promising 2006.Review Date: 01 Mar 08