98 points, La Revue Du Vin De France
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97 points, Burghound
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95+ points, Wine Advocate
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94-96 points, Wine Advocate
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93-97 points, Jasper Morris
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93 points, Wine Spectator
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92-95 points, Burghound
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About the Wine
Critic Reviews
98 points, La Revue Du Vin De France
97 points, Burghound
95+ points, Wine Advocate
94-96 points, Wine Advocate
93-97 points, Jasper Morris
93 points, Wine Spectator
92-95 points, Burghound
“Un clos-de-a roche de très grande envergure, très complet, tout en ampleur et carrure, sa structure tannique enrobée par un velouté abondant. Très grande garde prévisible.”
97 points, Burghound
“A brooding and almost grumpy nose only grudgingly gives up its aromas of poached plum, warm earth, smoked game and once again, plenty of spice nuances. The velvety and opulent big-bodied flavors brim with an abundance of dry extract that imparts a seductive mid-palate mouth but also serves to buffer the remarkably firm tannic spine shaping the powerful and hugely long finish where the only nit is a suggestion of warmth. This is a fantastic but seriously imposing wine with the structure to match so this is one to buy and forget you own it. In a word, brilliant.”
95+ points, Wine Advocate
“Ponsot’s 2018 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes was only bottled in July 2020, and its extended élevage has really refined the wine. Opening in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cherries and plums mingled with dark chocolate, preserved citrus peel, woodsmoke and spices, it’s full-bodied, concentrated and powerful, with real depth and mid-palate amplitude, its rich, powdery tannins largely concealed in a generous core of fruit. This is a muscular wine somewhat reminiscent of a more gourmand version of the domaine’s 2005, and it will demand patience.”
94-96 points, Wine Advocate
“Ponsot’s 2018 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is a brooding, powerful wine, unfurling in the glass with a kaleidoscopic bouquet that marries deep fruit tones of dark berries and cassis with sweet nuances of smoked meats, licorice, dark chocolate and peonies. Full-bodied, broad-shouldered and muscular, it’s deep and concentrated, with a layered core of fruit that’s built around rich reserves of tannin and lively balancing acids. This appears to be the most structured Ponsot Clos de la Roche of the decade; it will demand patience, but it is a terrific wine in the making”
93-97 points, Jasper Morris
“Hugely deep intense purple. The nose suggests incipient majesty, and the palate delivers. Super succulent, but not sloppy, probably maximum ripeness, fruit covers the acidity, and the tannins are ripe. Enough acidity in fact shows through.”
93 points, Wine Spectator
“Dark and solidly built, featuring black currant, blackberry, violet, and smoky oak spice flavors. The firm tannins render this a bit compact now but finishes long and balanced in the end. Best from 2023 through 2038.”
92-95 points, Burghound
“This too is quite firmly reduced and aromatically unreadable. The velvety and opulent big-bodied flavors brim with an abundance of dry extract that imparts a seductive mid-palate mouth but also serves to buffer the remarkably firm tannic spine shaping the powerful and hugely long finish where the only nit is a suggestion of warmth. This is an imposing wine with the structure to match so this is one to buy and forget you own it.”
About The Winery
Vineyard Brands has a history spanning more than 40 years of buying wines from Domaine Ponsot - first from Hippolyte Ponsot, later from his son Jean-Marie, and most recently from Laurent and Rose-Marie. Domaine Ponsot's history begins in 1872 when William Ponsot purchased a wine estate in Morey-Saint-Denis and set up his home there. His major parcels of land at that time were the Clos des Monts-Luisants and Clos de la Roche. His nephew and godson, Hippolyte Ponsot, took over the domaine in 1920, and in 1932 started bottling his entire harvest at the domaine, a rarity for the time. Eventually the estate was passed down to Hippolyte's son Jean-Marie, and later to Jean-Marie's children, Laurent and Rose-Marie. Today, Rose-Marie Ponsot is the sole director of the company, seconded by Alexandre Abel. Unfettered by the latest fashions, Domaine Ponsot has always sought to express the richness of Burgundy terroir through natural cultivation practices. Human intervention is limited and only applied to the help that the vine needs. The family's long tradition of letting nature take the lead work that today the vineyards are in exceptional condition.