Ponsot
About Domaine Ponsot
Founded by a soldier returning home from the Franco-Prussian War in 1872, radical thinking and revolutionary ideas seem to be something of a family trait. The current eccentric Ponsot at the helm of this fabulous estate is Laurent, who is making wildly unique yet utterly Burgundian wines from some of the finest Grands Crus in the entire region.
The Winemaking
Although classified as neither biodynamic nor organic, he uses no insecticide or pesticide on his vines that are an average of 50 years old. To ensure quality, the label is unique for having a white spot that turns grey if the bottle has been subjected to extreme temperatures.
Laurent Ponsot studies the moon and the stars (he is not an astronomer), and their effect on the rhythm of life in the vineyards. A holistic approach that sees him lean heavily towards low intervention winemaking techniques to respect this natural harmony. The faintest touch of sulfur is afforded to the grapes upon picking if absolutely necessary, and there is no sorting table in his winery. Once pressed, the liquid is essentially allowed to ferment whenever it wishes for as long as it wishes. Once the wines have achieved the requisite state of their own accord, they may or may not be racked in the following spring or summer depending on the cycle of the moon.

Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£3,205.24 |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | 95 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£1,934.44 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (95)Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. Laurent Ponsot’s Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes '11 is reticent at first and demands coaxing, although it repays the patient imbiber with lively floral scents that are entwined with strawberry pastilles and cranberry. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy and almost corpulent entry, at least for a 2011 Côte de Nuits. There is admirable depth here with fleshy strawberry and red cherry notes infused with fennel and sage. It lingers for a very long time, which is quite unusual for this vintage. While it needs another few years to completely coalesce, it will be worth the wait. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£6,124.87 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£4,737.67 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 3 | - |
Inc. VAT
£4,737.67 |
|||||
Each case contains:  1x75cl Corton Charlemagne | VN 92-94 2x75cl Corton Grand Cru Cuvee du Bourdon | VN 89-91 2x75cl Charmes Chambertin | VN 92-94 2x75cl Clos de Vougeot | VN 91-93 2x75cl Chapelle Chambertin - 2x75cl Clos de la Roche | VN 94-97 1x75cl Corton Bressandes | VN 90-93 |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£4,660.18 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 86-89 (BH) |
Inc. VAT
£301.24 |
|||||
Burghound (86-89)A notably ripe yet attractively fresh nose speaks of both red and dark berries along with soft earth nuances. There is fine volume to the relatively full-bodied flavors that possess a lovely mid-plate texture before concluding in a mildly rustic and warm finish. Still, this is really quite good and worth considering as a quality option for an all-around house red. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£4,087.49 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£2,177.21 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£6,924.58 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£1,364.69 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 89-91 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£944.44 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (89-91)The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru les Charmes has a lovely, well-defined, vibrant bouquet with brambly black and red fruit – blackcurrant pastilles emerging with aeration in the glass. The palate is firm in the mouth with good backbone. Plenty of clean and pure black fruit with dash of black pepper sprinkled lightly on the masculine but long finish. Fine. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | 89-91 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£1,226.69 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (89-91)The 2013 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes was slightly reduced on the nose, but on the palate there feels like a little more depth and extraction compared to Laurent Ponsot’s other 2013 crus with succulent ripe tannins, plenty of blackcurrant and wild strawberry fruit with a dense finish that will require some bottle age. I just like the way this stays true to what one expects from a Chambolle-Musigny, but it does not go that extra mile. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | 88-90 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£971.09 |
|||||
Vinous (88-90)(this, the Gevrey and the Charmes-Chambertin were the only 2006s that had been racked as of early November) Good full red. Sappy raspberry and cherry aromas show a slightly liqueur-like aspect. Fat and dry, with a red raspberry flavor complicated by notes of iron, smoke and meat. A concentrated, soil-driven wine that's a bit heavy and lacking in high notes for Chambolle. (There's no Morey villages in 2006 as the vines were replaced after the 2005 harvest.) |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | 89-91 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£152.65 |
|||||
Vinous (89-91)The 2009 Chambolle-Musigny Cuvée Cigales presents a decidedly huge, brooding style of Chambolle. The Cigale offers plenty of power and intensity, but the masculine personality is not for the timid! |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£523.49 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£754.09 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£390.80 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 2 | 93-95 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£1,956.04 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (93-95)The 2012 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru is tighter and more laconic on the nose compared to the Griotte, which is usual. With a little encouragement there is just a suggestion of brine, something from the deep dark sea. The palate is fresh and vibrant right from the start with fine tannins, very smooth in the mouth with impressive density and weight. This is a vin de garde for sure, with a lovely touch of white pepper lingering on the aftertaste. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£2,343.64 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 2 | - |
Inc. VAT
£1,863.64 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 95 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£1,624.84 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (95)A pure and inviting bouquet of plums, raspberries, rose petals and peonies introduces Ponsot's 2017 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, a full-bodied, satiny wine that's concentrated and incisive, retaining all the suppleness and charm it displayed in barrel but having gained additional depth and reserve with further élevage and some time in bottle. This has turned out brilliantly and will merit a dozen years' bottle age to really show all its potential, even if it will be approachable sooner. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 93-95 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£784.09 |
|||||
Vinous (93-95)The 2021 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru is very pure and perfumed, macerated red cherries, wild strawberry, kirsch and rose petal scents, an underlying mineralité that will become more conspicuous with time. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, quite firm tannins (more like a Mazis?) leading to a sapid, slightly peppery finish that lingers. Needs to knit together but great potential. |
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|
Burgundy | 2 | 93-95 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£965.54 |
|||||
Vinous (93-95)The 2021 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru is very pure and perfumed, macerated red cherries, wild strawberry, kirsch and rose petal scents, an underlying mineralité that will become more conspicuous with time. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, quite firm tannins (more like a Mazis?) leading to a sapid, slightly peppery finish that lingers. Needs to knit together but great potential. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£581.05 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 3 | 92-94 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£1,857.64 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (92-94)Lavish and expressive, the 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Cuvée des Merles bursts from the glass with a fruit-driven bouquet of ripe cherries, licorice, spices and sweet soil that is typical of this vineyard. Full-bodied, satiny and expansive, the wine's fine structuring tannins are entirely cloaked in succulent fruit. The finish displays good length and delineation. Of all Ponsot's grands crus, this will be the best bet for near-term consumption. |
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|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£1,802.44 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 3 | - |
Inc. VAT
£1,509.85 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 85 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£729.85 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (85)In my article on Ponsot's 1995s out of barrel, I heaped considerable praise on the Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes, describing it as prodigious, and going so far as to say that I would not be surprised if it deserved a perfect rating! At my recent tasting I found it to be light-to-medium ruby-colored with an amber edge. Its slightly alcoholic nose is reminiscent of cherry-flavored Bubbleyum bubblegum mixed with white pepper and grapefruit. On the palate, this wine is a pale shadow of its former self. Amidst an earthy, stony, red pit fruit-flavored, and medium-bodied core, there remains a ghost-like trace of the richness and ripeness I originally had seen in this wine. After it had been opened for 48 hours I re-visited it. To its credit, this Clos de la Roche had not deteriorated, yet it had not gotten any better either. I will not be drinking my remaining bottles in the near term as I want to see if Laurent Ponsot's assertion that these wines will regain their fruit in time is correct. However, I cannot recommend the same course of action to readers as I see no reason to believe that cellaring will help this wine. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 2 | 93 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£2,445.64 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (93)Ponsot's 2001 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is going from strength to strength, and this bottle was showing beautifully, wafting from the glass with notes of red plums, smoked duck, cherries, spices, mustard seed and potpourri. On the palate, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with chalky but melting tannins, tangy acids and a long, stony finish. Somewhat rustic in profile, it isn't the most elegant vintage of Ponsot's Clos de la Roche, but it's beginning to drink well today. |
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£2,655.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 95 (WA) |
In Bond
£1,596.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (95)Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. Laurent Ponsot’s Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes '11 is reticent at first and demands coaxing, although it repays the patient imbiber with lively floral scents that are entwined with strawberry pastilles and cranberry. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy and almost corpulent entry, at least for a 2011 Côte de Nuits. There is admirable depth here with fleshy strawberry and red cherry notes infused with fennel and sage. It lingers for a very long time, which is quite unusual for this vintage. While it needs another few years to completely coalesce, it will be worth the wait. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£5,072.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£3,916.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 3 | - |
In Bond
£3,916.00 |
|||||
Each case contains:  1x75cl Corton Charlemagne | VN 92-94 2x75cl Corton Grand Cru Cuvee du Bourdon | VN 89-91 2x75cl Charmes Chambertin | VN 92-94 2x75cl Clos de Vougeot | VN 91-93 2x75cl Chapelle Chambertin - 2x75cl Clos de la Roche | VN 94-97 1x75cl Corton Bressandes | VN 90-93 |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£3,845.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 86-89 (BH) |
In Bond
£235.00 |
|||||
Burghound (86-89)A notably ripe yet attractively fresh nose speaks of both red and dark berries along with soft earth nuances. There is fine volume to the relatively full-bodied flavors that possess a lovely mid-plate texture before concluding in a mildly rustic and warm finish. Still, this is really quite good and worth considering as a quality option for an all-around house red. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£3,387.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£1,809.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£6,878.40 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£1,118.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 89-91 (WA) |
In Bond
£771.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (89-91)The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru les Charmes has a lovely, well-defined, vibrant bouquet with brambly black and red fruit – blackcurrant pastilles emerging with aeration in the glass. The palate is firm in the mouth with good backbone. Plenty of clean and pure black fruit with dash of black pepper sprinkled lightly on the masculine but long finish. Fine. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 89-91 (WA) |
In Bond
£1,003.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (89-91)The 2013 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes was slightly reduced on the nose, but on the palate there feels like a little more depth and extraction compared to Laurent Ponsot’s other 2013 crus with succulent ripe tannins, plenty of blackcurrant and wild strawberry fruit with a dense finish that will require some bottle age. I just like the way this stays true to what one expects from a Chambolle-Musigny, but it does not go that extra mile. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 88-90 (VN) |
In Bond
£790.00 |
|||||
Vinous (88-90)(this, the Gevrey and the Charmes-Chambertin were the only 2006s that had been racked as of early November) Good full red. Sappy raspberry and cherry aromas show a slightly liqueur-like aspect. Fat and dry, with a red raspberry flavor complicated by notes of iron, smoke and meat. A concentrated, soil-driven wine that's a bit heavy and lacking in high notes for Chambolle. (There's no Morey villages in 2006 as the vines were replaced after the 2005 harvest.) |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 89-91 (VN) |
In Bond
£124.00 |
|||||
Vinous (89-91)The 2009 Chambolle-Musigny Cuvée Cigales presents a decidedly huge, brooding style of Chambolle. The Cigale offers plenty of power and intensity, but the masculine personality is not for the timid! |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£417.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£622.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£323.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 2 | 93-95 (WA) |
In Bond
£1,614.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (93-95)The 2012 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru is tighter and more laconic on the nose compared to the Griotte, which is usual. With a little encouragement there is just a suggestion of brine, something from the deep dark sea. The palate is fresh and vibrant right from the start with fine tannins, very smooth in the mouth with impressive density and weight. This is a vin de garde for sure, with a lovely touch of white pepper lingering on the aftertaste. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£1,937.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 2 | - |
In Bond
£1,537.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 95 (WA) |
In Bond
£1,338.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (95)A pure and inviting bouquet of plums, raspberries, rose petals and peonies introduces Ponsot's 2017 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, a full-bodied, satiny wine that's concentrated and incisive, retaining all the suppleness and charm it displayed in barrel but having gained additional depth and reserve with further élevage and some time in bottle. This has turned out brilliantly and will merit a dozen years' bottle age to really show all its potential, even if it will be approachable sooner. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 93-95 (VN) |
In Bond
£647.00 |
|||||
Vinous (93-95)The 2021 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru is very pure and perfumed, macerated red cherries, wild strawberry, kirsch and rose petal scents, an underlying mineralité that will become more conspicuous with time. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, quite firm tannins (more like a Mazis?) leading to a sapid, slightly peppery finish that lingers. Needs to knit together but great potential. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 2 | 93-95 (VN) |
In Bond
£795.00 |
|||||
Vinous (93-95)The 2021 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru is very pure and perfumed, macerated red cherries, wild strawberry, kirsch and rose petal scents, an underlying mineralité that will become more conspicuous with time. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, quite firm tannins (more like a Mazis?) leading to a sapid, slightly peppery finish that lingers. Needs to knit together but great potential. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£481.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 3 | 92-94 (WA) |
In Bond
£1,532.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (92-94)Lavish and expressive, the 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Cuvée des Merles bursts from the glass with a fruit-driven bouquet of ripe cherries, licorice, spices and sweet soil that is typical of this vineyard. Full-bodied, satiny and expansive, the wine's fine structuring tannins are entirely cloaked in succulent fruit. The finish displays good length and delineation. Of all Ponsot's grands crus, this will be the best bet for near-term consumption. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£1,486.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 3 | - |
In Bond
£1,255.00 |
|||||
|
Burgundy | 1 | 85 (WA) |
In Bond
£605.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (85)In my article on Ponsot's 1995s out of barrel, I heaped considerable praise on the Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes, describing it as prodigious, and going so far as to say that I would not be surprised if it deserved a perfect rating! At my recent tasting I found it to be light-to-medium ruby-colored with an amber edge. Its slightly alcoholic nose is reminiscent of cherry-flavored Bubbleyum bubblegum mixed with white pepper and grapefruit. On the palate, this wine is a pale shadow of its former self. Amidst an earthy, stony, red pit fruit-flavored, and medium-bodied core, there remains a ghost-like trace of the richness and ripeness I originally had seen in this wine. After it had been opened for 48 hours I re-visited it. To its credit, this Clos de la Roche had not deteriorated, yet it had not gotten any better either. I will not be drinking my remaining bottles in the near term as I want to see if Laurent Ponsot's assertion that these wines will regain their fruit in time is correct. However, I cannot recommend the same course of action to readers as I see no reason to believe that cellaring will help this wine. |
|||||||||
|
Burgundy | 2 | 93 (WA) |
In Bond
£2,022.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (93)Ponsot's 2001 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is going from strength to strength, and this bottle was showing beautifully, wafting from the glass with notes of red plums, smoked duck, cherries, spices, mustard seed and potpourri. On the palate, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with chalky but melting tannins, tangy acids and a long, stony finish. Somewhat rustic in profile, it isn't the most elegant vintage of Ponsot's Clos de la Roche, but it's beginning to drink well today. |