| Region of production: | Côte d’Or |
| Winery Location: | Morey-Saint-Denis |
| Year Established: | 1872 |
Vineyard Holdings
- Montrachet Grand Cru
- Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
- Clos de la Roche Grand Cru: 3.4 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1947
- Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru: 0.7 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1905
- Chambertin Grand Cru: 0.2 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1955
- Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru: 0.3 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1972
- Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru: 0.9 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1990
- Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru: 0.7 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1990
- Morey-Saint-Denis Clos des Monts Luisants Premier Cru: 0.9 ha Aligoté, mostly planted in 1911
Top Wines Produced
- Montrachet Grand Cru
- Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
- Clos de la Roche “Cuvée Vieilles Vignes” Grand Cru
- Clos Saint-Denis “Cuvée Très Vieilles Vignes” Grand Cru
- Chambertin Grand Cru
- Charmes-Chambertin “Cuvée des Merles” Grand Cru
- Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru
- Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru
- Morey-Saint-Denis Clos des Monts Luisants Premier Cru Blanc
Inaugural Vintages
- Clos de la Roche Grand Cru (1934)
- Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru (1982)
- Chambertin Grand Cru (1969)
- Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru (1970)
- Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru (1982)
- Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru (1999)
- Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Corton Grand Cru, Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru ( all 2009)
- Montrachet Grand Cru (2010)
Average Total Production
- 26,400 bottles
Summary
Domaine Ponsot was founded in 1872 by William Ponsot with a small holding in Clos de la Roche and Clos des Monts Luisants. The domaine has grown over the years through acquisitions, marriage and joint ventures. Laurent Ponsot – the current generation in charge – has continued to expand the holdings, adding Corton-Charlemagne, Corton, and Corton-Bressandes in 2009, and a small piece of Montrachet in 2010. The domaine now boasts an enviable twelve grands crus, and production that is inverse of Burgundy as a whole, with 80% of the domaine’s production comprised of grand cruwines and only 8% regional and village wine. Their holdings include some exceptionally old vineyards, and Hippolyte Ponsot (Laurent’s grandfather) was concerned about preserving the genetic heritage of his vineyards from an early date. He painstakingly marked top-performing old vines and created a 2,000-vine “nursery” in Clos de la Roche of the best selections. It was from this block of vines that the so-called “Dijon clones” of Pinot Noir were selected by Jean-Marie Ponsot and researchers at the University of Dijon. Domaine Ponsot also produces a rarity: a premier cru white that is 100% Aligoté from very old vines planted in 1911 in Monts Luisants. In 2005 Laurent Ponsot removed the Pinot Gouges and Chardonnay that his father and grandfather had planted, and re-planted Aligoté, bottling only the old vines from 2005 forward. This is an exceptional, but idiosyncratic, domaine.
Style & Vinification Techniques
Domaine Ponsot generally harvests very low-yielding and very ripe fruit from their old vineyards. They use no new oak, purchasing used barrels from white wine producers, and use sulfur very sparingly, if at all. The grapes are harvested into small baskets to keep the fruit intact, and red grapes are generally de-stemmed (although this varies by vintage). The wines ferment in wooden tanks and are allowed to reach a fairly high temperature, from 35-38° Celsius. There is no set regimen for the amount of pigeage, or remontage, or even the amount of time on skins – the qualities of the harvest dictate these decisions. The wines are pressed with a wooden basket press, and the four-level winery allows gravity-flow wine movements. Wines are bottled with no fining or filtering after 18-24 months in barrel and generally receive only a minimal amount of sulfur at bottling.
Producer Website: Ponsot