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This is, without any doubt, Domaine Ponsot’s top wine and one of the finest wines of the Côte de Nuits. The terroir itself largely explains why. Domaine Ponsot is famously the largest landowner in Clos de la Roche, perfectly situated almost entirely within the historic Clos itself and with some of the oldest vines (averaging approximately 65 years of age).
Clos de la Roche was expanded in the 1950s to include a range of neighbouring sites (Les Fremières, Les Genevrières, Les Mochamps, Monts Luisants, etc.) which surround the original vineyard or Clos. As you might expect, the original terroir (widely considered to be the finest part of the Clos de la Roche appellation) makes different wines to the surrounding sites now included in the AOC. Domaine Ponsot owns almost three hectares of the original 4.5-hectare Clos. The rest of Ponsot’s holdings are within the Monts Luisants lieu-dit (which has always been bottled and sold as Clos de la Roche as it has the same soil but sits higher on the slope). The grapes from Monts Luisants add freshness to the natural power of the fruit from the original Clos.
Terroir aside, this wine is clearly the reference point for the AOC. To us, it is not only Ponsot’s grandest wine, but also one of the greatest red wines in Burgundy. Exactly how much of the quality to be found under this label is related to terroir and how much to the vine age, plant material and quality of the farming is impossible to know—it’s often hard in Burgundy, to separate the quality of the grower from the quality of the terroir. When young, the wine can often be tightly wound and restrained, needing time to build and express itself. The notes below speak for themselves.