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 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.) surrounding the original vineyard. As you might expect, the original terroir (widely considered the finest part of the Clos de la Roche appellation) makes different wines from the surrounding sites now included in the AOC. Domaine Ponsot owns almost three hectares of this 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, though it 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 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 is related to terroir and how much to vine age, plant material and the quality of the farming is impossible to separate, yet all these factors come together to create something truly remarkable these days. The 2020 is a “wow” wine: deep, fleshy, layered, complex and long, with a lingering dark-fruited, floral, Vosne-like spice and saline-noted finish. The notes below speak for themselves.