This iconoclastic Morey-Saint-Denis Domaine is dripping with history. Estate bottling commenced here in the 1930s as it did at other historic Domaine’s like Henri Gouges, Lafarge and Rousseau. Clonal selection in Burgundy also began here—Jean-Marie Ponsot provided the mother plants from his ancient Clos de la Roche vines for the first approved Burgundy clones. Today, Domaine Ponsot remains Burgundy’s most avant-garde estate, all the while crafting Burgundies of beguiling purity from many of the grandest terroirs of the Côte. 

Iconoclast Laurent Ponsot left Domaine Ponsot to start his own negociant business in 2016.  Laurent’s sister, Rose-Marie Ponsot (co-director of the Domaine since 1997) is now in charge, assisted by her nephew William and manager Alexandre Abel. Cellar-master Laurent Desgouttes has also joined the ranks. What has changed since Laurent’s departure? A few things, but nothing truly fundamental. The Domaine’s long-standing vineyard manager of 35 years, Denis Remondet, remains in his role and continues to work to ever higher standards, with meticulous attention to detail paid to the vines. The Domaine employs seven full-time workers for seven hectares of vineyard (which tells you all you need to know). It’s the same harvesting policy—only fully ripe fruit with strict selection in the vineyards. It’s the same gravity-fed cellar with its huge, wooden fermenters and zero new oak—unique in the Côte de Nuits—is still the rule. 

The stunning wines of recent vintage signify another notch in the belt of this iconic Domaine under the guidance of Rose-Marie Ponsot and manager Alexandre Abel. To borrow a sentiment from Tim Atkin MW, “Domaine Ponsot is flourishing under the new régime.”

None of this is to say Domaine Ponsot has been stuck in a time warp. The Estate has a terrific, modern cellar and enthusiastically uses the latest technology where it aids quality. Hydraulic basket presses, temperature control in the wooden fermenters, a state-of-the-art bottling line and the use of ArdeaSeal closures make this clear. Most recently, every hectare of the Domaine’s vines are now managed organically (the steepest sites in Monts Luisants have always been the challenge here) and horses have reappeared in the vineyards. In the cellar, there’s a new destemmer, there is no longer any pumping at harvest time, and the white grapes are not crushed before pressing. Nothing could be more natural than for a great producer to continue to evolve in this way, all in the name of ever-greater quality and consistency.

No article on this Domaine would be complete without reference to two unique wines. Domaine Ponsot is the largest landowner in Clos de la Roche, with some of the oldest vines—averaging approximately 60 years of age—and mostly situated within the historic Clos itself. 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. As you might expect, the original terroir makes different wines compared to the surrounding sites now included in the Grand Cru. Domaine Ponsot owns almost three hectares of the original 4.5-hectare Clos which is widely considered to be the finest part of the Clos de la Roche. The rest of Ponsot’s holdings are within the Monts Luisants lieu-dit, which are said to add freshness to the power of the original Clos fruit. 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. 

Then, there is Clos des Monts Luisants, a very special, age-worthy 1er Cru that is unique on several levels. Not only is it a monopole, but it is also the only 1er Cru for white in Morey-Saint-Denis and the only 1er Cru that is 100% (old vine) Aligoté in Burgundy. At different times in this vineyard’s history, there have been small quantities of Chardonnay and ‘Pinot Gouges’ (a white mutation from Pinot Noir) in the blend. Yet from 2006, it returned to its pre-1930s origins of 100% Aligoté from an ancient, mostly bush vine selection planted in 1911. There is a good reason for this ─ Aligoté has always produced outstanding wine here, better than anything the Ponsot clan could muster from Chardonnay. It seems that this high-altitude, rocky site seems to have a natural affinity with Aligoté. Once upon a time, there would probably have been many other vineyards across the Côte about which we could have said the same. Today the wine commemorates its ancient Aligoté vines on the label with the Très Vieilles Vignes designation (only given by the Domaine to vineyards that are over 100 years old). This is a wine of incredible depth, racy, mineral energy, pulpy texture and longevity.