Glantenay Pommard Rugiens Rouge 2016 ANDREW GUARD WINE IMPORTS

Thierry took over from his father Bernard in 2002, leaving behind his career in engineering for the siren song of his family’s vines. The pull must have been strong for him as the estate has been passed down the family since the 1700’s. When he first arrived he took over where his father left off. The vines were in good shape (the family have always been very well respected as grape gowers) Bernard having always practiced ‘Lutte raisonnée’ in his vines.

However not much was bottled and sold under the family name for three main reasons; Bernard’s reputation as a fastidious farmer, the wealth of his ‘terroir’ ‚– Caillerets, Clos des Chênes, Santenots, Rugiens, Folatières, and the fact that they had mostly old vines. The ‘courtiers’ that often came knocking had very good money to offer for the wine and Bernard found it hard to refuse the likes of Dominique Laurent, Lalou Bize Leroy and Louis Jadot. In fact, this year, Domique Laurent came knocking for a barrel of Pommard Rugiens this year but Thierry chose not to sell. All this has meant that the estate has existed well and truly under the radar of wine critics and collectors until very recently when Thierry started turning all the family grapes into bottled wine. The winemaking equipment that Thierry inherited was functional but it was getting old and Thierry, from 2008 invested everything he had into a new press, tanks, peristaltic pumps and two ‘tables de tri’ including a vibrating table to optimise sorting. As a result I feel that Thierry’s wines since 2009 have gained even more in finesse, balance and harmony. Their fragrance and sensuality (the charm of Burgundy) is now at the top level. – Importer Note