Domaine Ponsot

William Ponsot established this Domaine in 1872 and it has since developed into one of the finest in the Côte d`Or. There is history of innovation here with it being one of the first Domaines to practise estate bottling in the 1930s, and perhaps more significantly the Ponsots were among the first growers to understand the importance of clones and clonal selection - many of the most important Pinot Noir clones originate from their vineyards.

The first Ponsot on the scene was William, originally from St Romain but on returning from the Franco-Prussian war he settled in Morey St Denis in 1872 and bought vineyard land including the Clos des Monts Luisants. He was succeeded in 1920 by his cousin and godson, Hippolyte Ponsot, who was joined by his son Jean-Marie in 1942. Jean-Marie, long-time mayor of Morey, ran the business from 1958 until the early 1980s when his son Laurent, currently the man in charge, took over.
 
Right from the start in 1872 the Ponsots bottled a proportion of their own wine, although this was only for the family and their restaurants- they owned the franchise for all the station buffets in northern Italy! Hippolyte took the decision to bottle the entire production of the domaine in 1934.
 
Laurent Ponsot takes a very individual approach. He uses no insecticide or pesticide but does not call himself organic. He pays attention to the moon and the stars, and the rhythm of plant life, but would not wish to be described as biodynamic. When the grapes are, eventually, picked, they received a faint dusting of sulphur but no more is used either during vinification or maturation, or indeed at bottling, except in the case of a specific problem.
 
There is no sorting table, because any defective bunches, or parts of bunches, have already been removed in the vineyards, before picking. The healthy grapes are destalked, for the most part, and allowed to ferment whenever they wish and for as long as they wish., with punching down or pumping over being used as Laurent sees fit in a given year. Excesses of temperature are controlled but otherwise the grapes are left to their own devices, before the juice is sent to barrel: not new wood, not even young wood, but barrels which are 10 or more years old. The wines may or may not be racked before bottling, assuming the moon is suitable, at some point in the spring or summer of the second year after the vintage.
 
All this runs counter to most received wisdom and the wines remain somewhat controversial. They can lose colour rapidly after the bottling only to rediscover it in full maturity. Great vintages are usually very impressive from the start. Minor years seem weak and almost dried out at the time of bottling but freshen up amazingly later on.
 
Laurent Ponsot has also being playing sleuth, attempting to track down those who are manufacturing false bottles of old wine in various international markets. The issue was drawn to his attention by some impossible auction lots – great old vintages of Clos St Denis, for example, when the first vintage produced of this wine by the domaine was 1982. Unfortunately where such bottles surface is no indication of where they were fabricated. There are now ways of testing the date of the glass bottles themselves, which may help in detecting fraud even if not in catching the fraudsters.
 
Clos de la Roche vieilles vignes Grand Cru                  3.35ha
Clos St Denis vieilles vignes Grand Cru                         0.38ha
Chambertin Grand Cru                                                       0.14ha
Chapelle Chambertin Grand Cru                                     0.47ha
Griottes Chambertin Grand Cru                                        0.89ha
Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes                    0.58ha
Morey St Denis 1er Cru Cuvée des Alouettes                1.29ha
Chambolle Musigny Cuvée des Cigales                         0.31ha
Morey St Denis Cuvée des Grives                                     0.62ha
Gevrey Chambertin Cuvée de l'Abeille                            0.51ha
 
Morey St Denis Blanc, Clos des Monts Luisants           0.98ha
 
Ponsot also makes Charmes Chambertin and Clos de Vougeot vieilles vignes through an arrangement with another grower.
 
 
Morey St Denis Blanc, Clos des Monts Luisants
This extraordinary wine is made from Aligoté vines planted in 1911. It is fermented in old wood and does not go through malolactic fermentation, so there is always a substantial core of acidity as well as a remarkable weight of fruit.
 
Clos de la Roche vieilles vignes
If certain great vineyards in Burgundy can be said to have a defining vigneron – Rousseau in Chambertin, for example – then Ponsot is the domaine for Clos de la Roche. They have by far the largest holding of this cru, including the lion’s share of the original core of Clos de la Roche, and the wine, at maturity, is magnificent. There is a backbone
 
Clos St Denis vieilles vignes
The old vines here are unquestionably ancient, having been planted in 1905. The wine is now designated as très vieilles vignes (from 2006). Very little wine is made since Ponsot sharecrops this vineyard and therefore has to return a percentage to the owner. The wine is exceptionally dense, even more sumptuous than the Clos de la Roche, though not necessarily finer.

The average age of the vines across the Domaine is 50 years old and it is this, along with Laurent Ponsot's expertise, that give these wines their power, concentration, and rich, exotic and spicy nuances.