Ponsot Clos De La Roche 2007 (3.0L)

96 WA / 94 BH / 18 JR

This was a superb showing for the 2007 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes, a brilliant wine that bursts from the glass with a complex and maturing bouquet of red cherries, caramelized orange rind, cinnamon, potpourri and sweet soil tones. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, textural and satiny, with a concentrated, layered core, tangy acids and a stunningly long, sapid finish. This has always been a brilliant wine that transcends the vintage, but new dimensions are becoming apparent as it enters its second decade. This was the last vintage bottled under natural cork chez Ponsot.-William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

A magnificently complex nose offers up a mix of both high and medium-toned aromas of mostly red berries but with a panoply of background nuances including leather, tea, underbrush, spice hints, jerky and smoke, most of which transfer to the textured, intense and precise full-bodied flavors that are, somewhat surprisingly, not quite as dense as those of the Clos St. Denis but actually finer (normally it's the reverse), all wrapped in a hugely long and explosive finish that completely coats the palate with extract, indeed so much of it that this does not seem all that structured yet it will clearly need at least 15 years to be at its best. Ò Allen Meadows, Burghound

Deep and purplish and just a little tired on the nose (presumably because it had been opened 12 hours before serving).  Wonderful peacock's tail finish suggested that the nose of this wine was probably much more impressive earlier on. Dusty/tarry finish rather recalled Barolo(!) and was super-clean. Rather a tantalising liquid but I'd love to taste another bottle. I have given a suggested drinking window on the basis of this early-opened example. -Jancis Robinson