Ponsot Clos De La Roche Cuvee Vieilles Vignes 2016 (750ML)

97 WA / 97 JG / 94-97 VM / 94 BH

The 2016 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is superb, bursting from the glass with aromas of juicy cherries, peonies, blood orange, licorice, raw cocoa and espresso roast. On the palate, it's full-bodied, deep and succulent, with a concentrated, layered mid-palate, satiny structuring tannins and vibrant underlying acidity, concluding with a long finish. Harvested on October 7 at a comparatively high yield by Ponsot's standards of 38 hectoliters per hectare, this year seems to have been perfectly adapted to Ponsot's style. Vibrant, elegant and expressive, the 2016 is quite different from the richer, more powerful 2015, but in the fullness of time, I wouldn't be surprised to see it surpassing its brawnier elder sibling.—William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

Not surprisingly, the 2016 Clos de la Roche “Vieilles Vignes” from Domaine Ponsot is utterly brilliant. The bouquet is deep, sappy and very pure, delivering scents of red and black cherries, plums, raw cocoa, gamebird, woodsmoke and a magically complex base of soil tones. On the palate the wine is pure, sappy and very transparent in profile, with a great core of fruit, impeccable focus and balance, suave, ripe tannins and a very, very long, complex and vibrant finish. This is not as massively endowed as some recent vintages of Clos de la Roche here, and I have absolutely no complaints in this regard, as this wine is showing just beautiful potential and is every bit as promising as any recent vintage of this cuvée chez Ponsot! John Gilman, View From The Cellar

(14% alcohol, vs. 14.5% for the 2015 bottling; the estate owns 3.35 hectares in this grand cru, mostly in the climat Clos de la Roche): Dark red with ruby tones. Fully ripe but reticent nose combines cherry and musky soil tones, lifted by a floral topnote. Compellingly sappy, thick and deep; an utterly seamless grand cru with outstanding depth of texture and an impression of energy and power to its red and black fruit and earth flavors. Boasts uncommon thickness of fruit and purity. The wonderfully long, slowly rising, edge-free finish shows terrific energy. (The estate's Chapelle-Chambertin still had some unconverted malic acidity--indeed, winemaker Alexandre Abel may need to rack the wine and warm the tank to get it to finish--and was very difficult to assess with confidence. But it's savory, rich and deep, with complex soil tones and considerable sweetness.)—Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media

Tasting note: A very mild touch of reduction is just enough to blur the distinctions of the ripe red berry, earth and soft spice nuances and I suspect that a quick aeration would be sufficient to dissipate it. The broad-shouldered flavors possess a lovely texture thanks to the plentiful level of dry extract that enrobes the firm tannins shaping the serious and linear finish that displays excellent power and length. This is very promising.--Allen Meadows, Burghound