Domaine de la Pousse' d'Or is one of the most picturesque estates in Burgundy, perched imperiously on the southern flank o Volnay village. With his hounds encircling his legs, I met with Patrick Landanger who became proprietor back in 1997 due to the untimly passed of Gerard Potel. His intentions of becoming a silent shareholder were changed and having acquired the remaining shares from the Potel family, found himselfe the sole proprietor. He got the bit between his teeth, expanding the domaine's holdings up unto Corton and down into Puligny, converting the vineyard to organic viticulture with an eye on biodynamics. We tasted the wines in his multi-tiered cuverie as assembled blend taken directly from vat. Patrick was keen to stress his dedication to sorting, first via a vibrating table, then a second by eye and hand, then electronically. The result is very pure fruit that fortunately is not taken to the extreme so that it erases the nuances of each terroir. Moreover, I appreciate the prudent use of new oak here. This is another estate, like Marquis d'Angerville, that has a ceteris paribus approach i.e. it is maintained at 30% so that those nuances of terrori can be observed without being skewed by the level of wood. There have been occasions, most notably appropos the 2009 vintage, where I felt that there was a touch of over-ripeness evident in the wines. In 2012 I only discemedone cuvee that exhibited similar traits, the Bonnes-Mares, which came across tather ostentatious compared to the far more refined Clos-de-la-Roche. Otherwise, these 2012s from La Pousse d'Or are worth seeking out.

Robert Parker