The 2012 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Grand Cru is a rich, seductive Burgundy from 60-year-old vines, bursting with ripe red fruit, marmalade, and floral notes. Silky, balanced, and hedonistic—power and elegance in perfect harmony.

The Wine Advocate | RP 96
Published: Oct 30, 2015
Drink: 2018-2038

Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru from Laurent Ponsot has an extravagant, generous nose with hints of kirsch and raisin infusing the cranberry and blueberry fruit. Fortunately it does seem to calm down in the glass, rein in some of that nascent enthusiasm. The palate is sweet on the entry with red fruit, marmalade and dried orange peel. This is a grand cru that just wants to go out and please, a sexy Pinot Noir that does not hold back, which is what you want from this grand cru. This is a tempting offering, so much so that it is easy to overlook its pedigree.

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 19
Published: Dec 4, 2013

On average, 60-year-old vines. Very sumptuous. Extremely ripe and voluptuous. I am not given to female parallels but Sophia Loren popped into my head when I tasted this wine. Full on, fully developed and all washes over you. No teenage tantrums here! Great balance in the mouth and it feels so confident that you could surely drink it relatvely soon if you had no self control. A hedonist's delight.

Domaine-ponsot.com

The work we do in the vineyard enables us to release the intrinsic qualities of the grapes in the vinification process, and to respect the characteristics of the appellation and the vintage when making our wines.

The historic and emblematic wine of Domaine Ponsot – the grapes come from old vines located 2/3 in the original “Clos de la Roche” climat and 1/3 at the foot of the hillside in the “Clos des Monts-Luisants”. Grand Cru Clos de la Roche combines power and elegance. Complex and perfectly balanced, it is a great wine for laying down, structured, with extremely silky tannins.

Target Yield : 30 hl/ha
Surface area : 3.2 ha
Average Production : 10,000 bottles
Age of Vines : 65 years old
Grape Variety : Pinot noir
Density : 11,000 plants per hectare
Soil Types : Lean, clayey soil with limestone scree on a base of fine Premeaux and Comblanchien limestone.
Viticulture : Sustainable agriculture, Cordon pruning
Harvest : Hand-picked, sorting in the vineyard
Vinification : Grapes destemmed and fermented in temperature-controlled wooden vats. Native yeasts.
Maturation : 18 months in French oak barrels. No new barrels. Average age of barrels: 20 years