Closing Date: 5-2-11 Issue 194

Domaine Ponsot (Morey St.-Denis)

2009 Bourgogne Cuvée du Pinson red (87-89) 2009 Gevrey- Cuvée de L’Abeille red (90-93) 2009 Chambolle Musigny Cuvée des Cigales red (89-91) 2009 Chambolle Musigny les Charmes Premier Cru red (90-92) 2009 Morey Saint Denis Cuvée des Alouettes Premier Cru red (87-89?) 2009 Corton – Cuvée du Bourdon Grand Cru red (92-95) 2009 Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru red (91-94) 2009 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru red (91-94) 2009 Charmes-Chambertin Cuvée des Merles Grand Cru red (93-94) 2009 Chambertin Grand Cru red (91-94) 2009 Clos Saint Denis Cuvée Très Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru red (93-95) 2009 Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru red (94-97) 2009 Clos de Vougeot Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru red (93-95) 2009 Chambertin-Clos de Beze Grand Cru red (93-95) 2008 Morey Saint Denis Cuvée des Alouettes Premier Cru red 91 2008 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru red 91+ 2008 Chapelle Chambertin Grand Cru red 95+ 2009 Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru red 96

“This set of 2009s from Laurent Ponsot was among the finest I The2009 Chambolle-Musigny Cuvée Cigales presents a decidedly tasted. The are simply dazzling from top to bottom. Ponsot huge, brooding style of Chambolle. The Cigale offers plenty of power was among the last to harvest in 2009, essentially starting when most, and intensity, but the masculine personality is not for the timid! if not all, of his colleagues already had the fruit in their cellars. The Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. fruit was 100% destemmed and the wines were vinified in oak vats. The wines were then racked into barrel for the malos, where many of The2009 Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes is an immediate . them stayed with no further . There is no new oak at Ponsot. The aromatics alone are beautifully open and expressive. The fruit The barrels range from 5 to 50 years of age. The range now includes shows terrific delineation, depth and nuance with notable silkiness a head spinning eleven Grand Crus, which now total an astonishing and elegance. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. 70% of the estate’s total production. Ordinarily I would suggest cellaring the top 2009s for a minimum of 15 years or so, but now that The2009 Morey St. Denis Cuvée des Alouettes is hard to evaluate. Ponsot is bottling all of his wines with synthetic plastic corks made in Both barrels I tasted presented woody, rough tannins that marred Italy it is hard to know exactly how the wines will develop. I tasted all much of the purity of the fruit. Perhaps the wine is in an awkward of the 2009s from barrel, where they had been aging since finishing stage, but today it is not showing well. The Cuvée des Alouettes is their malolactic fermentations. made from vines in Monts Luisants. Anticipated maturity: 2019- 2029. The 2009 Bourgogne Cuvée du Pinson, from vines in Chambolle, is a pretty, feminine wine with lovely juiciness and an understated, The 2009 Corton-Cuvée de Bourdon is a freakish, dark wine classy personality. Crushed berries and flowers linger on the finish. endowed with loads of jammy fruit, white flowers, licorice and Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. spices. It is a sumptuous, even extreme wine that is not typical of either Corton or Pinot, but that inhabits its own world and does The 2009 Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée de l’Abeille is striking for so magnificently. It is a fabulous wine in every way. This is the first the purity of its fruit and its freshness. This is a totally refined wine for the Cuvée de Bourdon (bumblebee), one of four new graced with exquisite nuance, depth and definition. The Cuvée de Grand Crus in the Ponsot range this year. Anticipated maturity: l’Abeille is a hugely promising wine. Anticipated maturity: 2019- 2019-2029. 2029.

Imported by Vineyard Brands Vineyard Brands Selections www.vineyardbrands.com PON033 The2009 Corton-Bressandes shows notable intensity in its layers of floral, mineral-laced fruit. The wine hovers on the palate with superb The 2008 Morey St. Denis Cuvée des Alouettes is a striking wine length and polish. (sold in a mixed case of 12 bottles at $6,600 per that shows the delicate, feminine side of Morey. The wine blossoms on case) Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. the mid-palate as the fruit gains in textural depth and richness. Notes of salinity round out the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2028. The 2009 Griotte-Chambertin is another big, super-ripe wine loaded with dark fruit. This is almost port-like in its intensity, with The2008 Griotte-Chambertin is a huge, super ripe wine loaded with endless layers of blueberries, blackberries, spices and white flowers dark fruit, earthiness and tobacco. This shows notable intensity but that build towards the substantial, textured finish. The Griotte isa not quite the pedigree or refinement that is the hallmark of Ponsot. totally seductive wine endowed with fabulous harmony and tons of Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026. personality. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039. The 2008 Chapelle-Chambertin totally saturates the palate with The 2009 Charmes-Chambertin Cuvée des Merles shows deep layers of fruit and an enveloping, intense personality. Today the tremendous radiance and vibrancy in its fruit. This is a less extreme aromatics are rather inward and hard to read, especially as the wine style than some of the other wines in this line-up. Silky tannins grace starts shutting down in the glass. The Chapelle is at the beginning of the clean, exquisite yet multi-dimensional finish. There is an inner what looks to be a fascinating journey. Anticipated maturity: 2018- reserve here I find particularly appealing. (sold in a mixed case of 12 2028 bottles at $6,600 per case) Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039. The 2008 Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is a silky, elegant The 2009 Chambertin is one of the more inward wines in this line- wine. Freshly cut roses, dark red fruit and minerals sit on a core of up. There is good detail and nuance in the dark red fruit, minerals and utterly refined tannins. This shows stunning balance in a weightless white flowers. The finish is layered and subtle. Here, too, I get the sense style that gains energy on the clean, focused finish. This is a fabulous the wine is holding back much of its potential, even if the Chambertin effort from Ponsot. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2033.” is not one of the truly viscerally thrilling wines here, at least today. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039.

The 2009 Clos St. Denis Cuvée Tres Vieilles Vignes, from vines planted in 1905, is a weightless, elegant wine laced with crushed raspberries, autumn leaves, licorice and subtle earthiness. The wine flows through effortlessly to the long, impeccably textured finish. Yields were a minuscule 12 hectoliters per hectare here. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039.

The 2009 Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is round, sweet and totally enveloping. It is a huge, towering Burgundy that impresses for its gorgeous inner perfume and juicy, exuberant fruit. This shows tons of richness without being heavy or overripe in any way. Anticipated maturity: 2029-2049.

The 2009 Clos Vougeot Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is a deep, opulent wine graced with superb intensity in its dark red fruit, spices, tobacco and licorice. This is a dazzling effort layered with endless fruit and well-articulated aromatics that build impressively towards the round, multi-dimensional finish. (sold in a mixed case of 12 bottles at $6,600 per case) Anticipated maturity: 2029-2049.

The 2009 Chambertin-Clos de Beze is richer, rounder and deeper than the Chambertin. It shows marvelous depth and seductiveness in its black fruit, licorice, spices and asphalt. This is an authoritative, intense Burgundy that will require considerable patience. Anticipated maturity: 2029-2049.

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