Pommard Premier Cru 'Les Arvelets', Jane Eyre, 2022 - Magnum
Pommard Premier Cru 'Les Arvelets', Jane Eyre, 2022 - Magnum
- 150cl
- 13%
- Red Still
- Pinot Noir
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Optimal drinking window: 2028 - 2040
Pommard has a reputation to shake off — or lean into, depending on your mood. It makes the most muscular reds on the Côte de Beaune, and Les Arvelets, sitting on the northern edge of the appellation near the Beaune border, is one of its more elegant premiers crus: a little less brooding than Rugiens, a little more perfumed, but still unmistakably Pommard in its grip and iron-edged character. Jane Eyre is a small, thoughtful domaine working with old vines and minimal intervention, letting the village speak rather than the winemaker.
The 2022 vintage in Burgundy was generous and warm without tipping into excess, and in a magnum that generosity is held in check by the format itself — slower evolution, more oxygen exchange over time, a wine that will genuinely repay patience. We'd leave this until at least 2028, ideally longer, to let the tannins soften and the secondary earthy complexity come through. When it does, it will be serious.
Right now, the 2022 Les Arvelets is at the stage where the primary fruit is still dominant and the tannins are doing their best to make the point. Between 2028 and 2031, expect the first signs of real secondary complexity: forest floor, dried rose, perhaps a little leather. By the mid-2030s, if stored well, this should be hitting its stride — the fruit and structure in balance, the wine more complete and less argumentative. The magnum format adds at least three to four years to that trajectory compared to a standard bottle. Beyond 2040, drink any remaining bottles promptly rather than pushing further.
Tasting Notes
AppearanceDeep ruby with a violet tinge and good clarity, deeper than most Côte de Beaune reds at this age.
NoseDark cherry and blackberry fruit with a lifted violet note and underlying iron and wet earth. The magnum format keeps everything fresh and tightly wound. There is a faint woodsmoke quality that will resolve with time.
PalateFirm, chewy tannins in the Pommard tradition, but with enough ripe fruit from the warm 2022 season to balance them. The mid-palate has weight and presence — dark plum, dried herb, and a saline mineral quality on the back. Not a wine that flatters immediately.
FinishLong and grippy with a mineral, iron-tinged persistence that signals real potential.
Overall impressionA proper Pommard that is asking for a few more years in the cellar before it gives its best account of itself.
Food Pairings
In Burgundy, Pommard is the wine you open for the serious part of the meal. Locals would pair it with boeuf bourguignon, ideally made the day before so the sauce has deepened and the fat has been skimmed. Coq au vin works in the same register — slow-cooked, richly reduced, with lardons and mushrooms doing the heavy lifting. A plateau of local cheeses, particularly Époisses or aged Comté, is the classic end-of-bottle move. In autumn, a dish of wild mushrooms on toast or a game bird with lentils would be exactly right.
We think this wine would go well with
Serve at 16-17°C — any warmer and the alcohol starts to dominate in a wine this structured. Decant for at least an hour, ideally two; the tannins need air to soften and the fruit needs space to open. A large-bowled Burgundy glass is the right tool here, giving the wine room to expand and the aromatics a chance to gather.
Les Arvelets lies on the northern boundary of Pommard, on gently sloping land at around 280 metres, with soils of brown limestone and clay over Bathonian limestone bedrock — richer and deeper than some Pommard premiers crus, which contributes the wine's generous mid-palate weight. The slope orientation is east to south-east, giving good morning sun and a long, gradual ripening season. This combination of clay weight and limestone structure is what gives Pommard its characteristic density and age-worthiness.
Pommard sits between Beaune to the north and Volnay to the south on the Côte de Beaune, and produces exclusively red wine from Pinot Noir. It has 28 classified premiers crus but no grands crus, a point of occasional local frustration given the quality of sites like Rugiens and Épenots. Where Volnay tends towards silk and perfume, Pommard leans into structure, tannin, and a distinctly earthy, iron-laced character — broader-shouldered wines that need time to reveal their better nature.
The 2022 growing season in Burgundy began with a worryingly dry spring that had vignerons checking soil moisture levels weekly, followed by a summer that alternated between intense heat and welcome rainfall. The vines handled the stress remarkably well, producing smaller berries with concentrated flavours, though yields dropped significantly across both the Côte d'Or and Chablis. Harvest began earlier than usual, with many producers picking in late August under bright skies.
What emerged from the cellars shows a vintage of surprising finesse given the challenging conditions. The Pinot Noirs display vivid fruit and firm tannins without the jammy weight you might expect from a hot year, whilst the Chardonnays retained their mineral backbone alongside ripe stone fruit flavours. We're finding the village-level wines particularly compelling right now, drinking beautifully with just a year or two of bottle age, though the premier and grand crus will reward patience until the late 2020s.
FAQs
What does this wine taste like?
Dark cherry, iron, crushed violet, and earthy depth with firm, chewy tannins and a saline mineral finish. It is structured and serious rather than immediately generous — Pommard at its most characterful.
When should I drink this wine?
We would leave this until at least 2028. The 2022 vintage has the fruit to support the tannins, but they need time to integrate, particularly in magnum. It should be drinking well until 2040.
Is the magnum format worth it?
For a wine built for ageing, yes, absolutely. Magnums evolve more slowly and evenly than standard bottles, which means the wine will be more complete and more rewarding when you do open it. It also makes for a rather good centrepiece at the table.
What food should I serve with this?
Classic Burgundian dishes are the obvious answer: boeuf bourguignon, coq au vin, game birds, or a richly sauced mushroom dish. Aged Comté or Époisses alongside the last glass works very well.
How should I serve it?
At 16-17°C in a large Burgundy bowl, after at least an hour in a decanter, ideally two. Do not rush it — the wine rewards patience at every stage.
Is this worth cellaring?
Very much so. This is exactly the kind of wine the cellar was invented for — structured, mineral, age-worthy Burgundy in a format that slows down time. Buy it now and revisit it in 2030.
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