Ponsot Clos de la Roche Grand Cru "Vieilles Vignes" 2002

2002 Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes

93 BH

Notes:

There is even more aromatic complexity with similar and brilliant red and black fruit notes though not the spice with superbly sappy, concentrated and very pure flavors that display flat out incredible length and impeccable balance. This will join the ranks of some of the best vintages of Ponsot's Clos de la Roche, which is saying something. It is however built for the very patient. Burghound 93

Producer: Domaine Ponsot is one of the historic estates of Morey-Saint-Denis, founded in 1872 when William Ponsot acquired vineyards in the village, including a parcel of Clos de la Roche. The domaine became an early practitioner of estate bottling in Burgundy, bottling its Clos de la Roche under the domaine name beginning in 1934. Clos de la Roche has remained the estate’s emblematic wine, and Ponsot is the largest individual landholder in the Grand Cru. The domaine has long followed a notably traditional, low-intervention approach in the cellar, including indigenous-yeast fermentation and maturation in older barrels rather than new oak.
Vineyard: Ponsot’s Clos de la Roche holding is exceptional both in size and location. The domaine currently farms approximately 3.2 hectares, with roughly two-thirds situated within the original Clos de la Roche climat and the remaining third at the foot of the slope in Clos des Monts-Luisants, which forms part of the present Grand Cru appellation. Ponsot owns approximately three of the four hectares that constituted the original Clos de la Roche before the appellation was expanded, giving the domaine an unusually important position within the vineyard. The soils are relatively thin and clay-influenced, with limestone scree over fine Prémeaux and Comblanchien limestone bedrock. The old vines used for the cuvée average approximately 65 years, planted at a density of around 11,000 vines per hectare.
Winemaking: The wine is 100% Pinot Noir. Ponsot harvests by hand with sorting performed in the vineyard. The fruit is destemmed and fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled wooden vats. The wine is subsequently matured for approximately 18 months in French oak barrels, with no new oak; the domaine reports an average barrel age of approximately 20 years. This avoidance of new oak has long been an important element of Ponsot’s cellar philosophy, placing the emphasis on the vineyard and mature-vine fruit rather than oak influence.
Technical Details: Clos de la Roche Grand Cru AOC; Morey-Saint-Denis, Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France; 2002 vintage; 100% Pinot Noir; Cuvée Vieilles Vignes; approximately 3.2 hectares; vines approximately 65 years old; planting density approximately 11,000 vines/ha; thin clay-influenced soils with limestone scree over Prémeaux and Comblanchien limestone; hand harvested; vineyard sorting; destemmed; indigenous-yeast fermentation in wooden vats; approximately 18 months in French oak; no new oak. The domaine currently cites a target yield of 30 hl/ha and average production of approximately 10,000 bottles for the cuvée. The 2002 bottle in your inventory is listed at 14% ABV.
Food Pairing: Roast duck, squab, pigeon, venison, beef tenderloin, rack of lamb, game birds, truffle risotto, wild mushrooms, and poultry with morels. With more than two decades of bottle age, I’d favor simple preparations with earthy or savory components rather than heavily seasoned dishes. Roast duck, squab with mushrooms, or a truffle-based dish would be particularly appropriate.