Domaine Launay-Horiot – Pommard Premier Cru Les Chaponnières 2018 – Burgundy France

By 2018 Xavier Horiot had found his stride. Warm, generous and ripe, the vintage suits a domaine whose whole method — full destemming, gentle pump-overs, restrained oak — is built to keep fruit clear rather than pile on weight. Les Chaponnières is a south-facing 0.6-hectare parcel of old premier cru vines in the heart of Pommard.

🍷 At a Glance

• Grape: 100% Pinot Noir
• Appellation: Pommard Premier Cru Les Chaponnières
• Region: Côte de Beaune, Burgundy
• Vintage: 2018
• Producer: Domaine Launay-Horiot
• Winemaker: Xavier Horiot
• Holding: 0.6 hectares of old vines, south-facing
• Soil: Clay and limestone
• Average yield: 48 hl/ha
• Estate: Around 4 hectares, all that survived an eleven-year inheritance dispute from an original 11.5
• Vinification: Hand-harvested and fully destemmed, several days of cold maceration, pump-overs rather than punch-downs to keep the berries whole; 12 to 16 months in oak, around 30% new
• Serving temperature: 15–17°C
• Style: Dry red wine

👃 Tasting Notes & Experience

• Color: Deep ruby
• Nose: Ripe dark fruit with a savoury undertow
• Palate: Generous and rounded, with the vintage's warmth held in a clear frame
• Structure: Chalky tannins with good depth
• Finish: Long, savoury and persistent

Pommard spent decades dismissed as rustic and blocky, and the current generation of growers has largely dismantled that reputation — Xavier Horiot among the most cited. He came to it sideways, after eighteen years flying fighter jets for the French Air Force. His grandfather Raymond Launay died in 2000 having left the domaine jointly to his daughter and grandson, then discovered she meant to sell it; unable to prevent that under French inheritance law, he asked Xavier to fight for it. Eleven years of litigation ended in Xavier's favour in 2011, leaving about 4 hectares of the original 11.5 — the Pommard premiers crus and two Gevrey grands crus. In the cellar he aims for gentleness: everything destemmed, a long cold soak, pump-overs rather than punch-downs so the berries stay whole and build aromatics, and around 30% new oak at this level.

❤️ Why We Love It

• A generous vintage from a domaine built on restraint
• Old-vine premier cru fruit from a south-facing 0.6-hectare parcel
• Pommard at its least rustic, and still well short of the prices its neighbours command

🍽️ Food Pairing Ideas

• Roast beef, venison and game
• Boeuf bourguignon and slow-braised dishes
• Aged hard cheeses

👤 Who This Wine Is For

✓ Drinkers who want ripe Pommard that still tastes precise
✓ Anyone buying into a domaine before the market fully catches up
✕ Not ideal if you want something light and delicate