Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes Domaine Ponsot 2016

An estate that looms large in the mythology of Burgundy. Domaine Ponsot were early adopters of the practice of estate-bottling in the 1930s and also pioneered research into clonal selection - a key aspect of modern viticulture. Up until 2017, the domaine was under the stewardship of Laurent Ponsot, who did much to promote his family's wines. Laurent took what he saw as the best of organic and biodynamic practices without ever pursuing formal certification. On paper, the approach in the winery seems almost spartan - no sorting table at the cellar, fermentation is proceeds according to the whims of the native yeasts, absolutely no new wood is used during maturation and bottling takes place in line with a particular lunar phase.

While this approach might seem esoteric, the high quality of the wines and the praise they receive is universal. The Grand Cru wines are some of the finest in the Côte d'Or - concentrated, powerful and intense, all made with fruit from 50+ year vines. While Laurent may have moved on, his sister Rose-Marie has continued to maintain quality as sole proprietor of Domaine Ponsot.