The outstanding 2019s from Burgundy's Domaine Ponsot

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‘One of the most distinguished domaines of the Côte de Nuits’. So wrote Anthony Hanson MW over 25 years ago in the introduction to Domaine Ponsot in his seminal book, Burgundy. More recently William Kelley commented, in a retrospective of Ponsot’s routinely excellent Clos de la Roche: ‘What’s more, the vintages of the last decade or so have been purer and more vibrant than any of the wines produced between 1991 and 1999. In its singular style, in short, Domaine Ponsot’s Clos de la Roche is today one of the greatest wines produced in the Côte de Nuits.’
 
Domaine Ponsot is indisputably one of the great addresses of Burgundy, a remarkable estate for many reasons, not least of which that 79% of its entire vineyard holding is Grand Cru, and a further 13% Premier Cru. As owner Rose-Marie Ponsot often jokes, if you want to buy a case of Ponsot Bourgogne Rouge, you’ll need to make a balancing order for one or two Grands Crus, an unusual inversion of the more typical obligation.
 
The history of the domaine goes back to 1872, when William Ponsot bought an estate in Morey-St Denis which included significant parcels in Clos des Monts Luisants and Clos de la Roche, two vineyards that continue to underpin the domaine today. Throughout the 20th century, the domaine was a significant pioneer of innovation. Back in the 1930s, Hippolyte Ponsot was one of the co-founders of the Appellation d’Origine Controlée system, while his son Jean-Marie was a pioneer of clonal selection of vines in the mid-twentieth century, with a number of the most successful and well-known Pinot Noir clones globally deriving from Ponsot’s Clos de la Roche vineyard. Latterly, Laurent Ponsot took on the problem of cork as a closure through the 1990s as well as famously dedicating much time and effort to combatting counterfeit fine wine.
 
In 2017, Rose-Marie Ponsot took over the management of the domaine and brought in Alexandre Abel as head winemaker. Together they have now overseen four vintages, starting in 2017. They have built on the trend of innovation that is second nature at Domaine Ponsot and continue to perfect their approach. As has been the case at Domaine Ponsot for decades, no new oak is employed for the elevage of the wines, allowing a pure expression of each vineyard. Their approach to viticulture is respectful of nature and minimal intervention is the watchword. Alexandre has implemented changes of his own, dividing vineyard parcels into smaller sections that respect soil variation, clones, vine age thereby allowing for each plot to be micromanaged. When talking to me about the 2019 harvest, Alexandre explained they have to be adaptable to the variations of each plot, and consequently this led to “two harvests, 4 days apart in the same parcels in Clos de la Roche” in the 2019 vintage. His work has only taken on greater significance as Burgundy adjusts to warmer and drier vintages and the task of retaining freshness and elegance becomes more challenging. Alexandre believes that they have been able to retain their precision in recent vintages by “really zoning in on parcels whether because of vine age, clonal material, or soil variations”.
 
The 2019s that I tasted a couple of weeks ago here in the office were certainly outstanding examples, striking for their difference to the denser, deeper, more powerful 2018s. The Morey-St Denis 1er Cru, Cuvée des Alouettes showed a pure, scented, floral quality on the nose which led to a palate of ripe blue and red fruit, flowing, palate-caressing and ethereal with a typical touch of Morey spice and mineral tension lifting the finish. The Clos de la Roche Grand Cru had a profound, concentrated dark fruit core without any sense of over-ripeness, and a palate of power and volume as anticipated, yet with a sense of weightlessness too, a refined, beautifully balanced and multi-layered finish with rich, ripe tannins and incredible persistence. The Morey-St Denis Blanc 1er Cru, Clos des Monts Luisants showed ripe lemon citrus fruit, great purity and a heightened minerality, a wine all about freshness and mineral tension. The intensity of fruit derived of the astonishing old vines (in excess of 110 years old) make such a contribution to this unique white Burgundy, there is simply no wine that compares to this style.
 
I tasted a selection of three samples as mentioned above, but I include the notes of William Kelley of The Wine Advocate below for your interest.