Morey-Saint-Denis: July 2023

Domaine Ponsot stands as one of the most recognizable producers in Burgundy, and for a reason. The departure of Laurent Ponsot in 2017 surprised many, but we are pleased to report that under winemaker Alexandre Abel, the domaine is in good hands.

We had the opportunity to visit the domaine and explore its cellar with Alexandre, who shared with us his vision and philosophy. We also tasted a wide range of their wines, from their village-level appellations to the Grand Crus, including the only Premier Cru Aligoté in Burgundy. You can find our impressions and notes below, or skip ahead using our table of contents.

A profile of Domaine Ponsot

Established in 1872, Domaine Ponsot remains a family-led venture. The helm is currently held by Rose-Marie Ponsot, the fourth-generation general manager, who took over after her brother Laurent Ponsot’s departure. Embracing the traditions passed down, William Ponsot, Rose-Marie’s nephew, is now integrating himself into the family’s legacy. Yet, it’s not just family; Alexandre Abel, the winemaker and deputy director, is instrumental in overseeing the cellar as well as managing the vineyards and the commercial relationships.

At the heart of the domaine lies the historic Clos des Monts Luisants vineyard, which accounts for nearly half of the estate’s 7.5 hectares. The beginnings of Domaine Ponsot can be traced back here when William, its founding owner, acquired these parcels in 1872. From this very vineyard, he started producing the Morey-Saint-Denis whites, and Clos de la Roche, as the lower parts of Monts Luisants are classified as part of the Grand Cru. Notably, William expanded his wine-making endeavours to Gevrey-Chambertin, particularly Charmes-Chambertin, and a selection of Premiers Crus. In its early stage, the domaine also leased vines from a cousin, who eventually returned them to their original cultivators. However, the Clos des Monts Luisants vineyard has steadfastly remained in William’s possession.

As the years rolled on, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s, the family expanded their vineyards, acquiring significant portions of Clos de la Roche. Today, the Grand Cru Clos de la Roche makes up nearly half of the entire vineyard, at 3.4 hectares. While in average, the total production in Burgundy is divided into 50% Bourgogne appellation wines, 30-35% from villages level like Morey, Gevrey, and Chambolle, and a scanty 2% from the Grands Crus; Domaine Ponsot paints a different picture. It produces 60% Grands Crus, 25% Premiers Crus, 10-15% village wines, and a mere 1% from Burgundy from young vines only.

A new era after Laurent Ponsot

Laurent Ponsot, the former winemaker and general manager, was a defining force at Domaine Ponsot. With his unique approach to viticulture and vinification, he significantly boosted the estate’s global reputation. However, 2017 marked his decision to step away, while retaining his 25% stake. Originally spread over 10 hectares, the estate was downsized to 7.5 hectares. This reduction of 2.5 hectares can be traced back to rental agreements with Domaine des Chezeaux, established in the 1980s by Laurent’s father, Jean-Marie Ponsot. These agreements, which encompassed vineyards such as Chambolle-Musigny Les-Charmes and Griotte-Chambertin, came under Laurent’s personal purview when Jean-Marie retired in 1997.

Upon leaving for what he claims ‘personal reasons’, Laurent retained these rental contracts on his name to embark on his own venture with his son Clément. One third of their production comes from these rented vineyards of Domaine des Chezeaux, producing Griotte, Clos Saint-Denis, and Chambolle-Musigny. The rest comes from his new activity as a négociant. However, with Domaine des Chezeaux recently being sold, the new owner seems to intend to keep the vines for himself. The end of Laurent’s contract might soon be on the horizon, demanding him to relinquish the vines.

Meanwhile, under the stewardship of Rose-Marie and Alexandre, Domaine Ponsot continues to thrive, maintaining its signature style and practices. And as for Laurent? In the meantime he has invested heavily on new facilities for his enterprise.

An organic approach to viticulture

Walking into the Clos des Monts Luisants vineyard, the gradient becomes strikingly apparent. 4.5 hectares of this space is incredibly steep. Vines here are planted in terrace-like rows to accommodate the hillside. This configuration makes tractor work nearly impossible, leading to a heavy reliance on manual labour. In certain parts of the vineyard, horses, provided by an external service, are utilised to plough the soil, particularly during the wet seasons when the mud makes it too slippery for machinery.

Ponsot’s viticulture clearly adheres to organic practises, despite not being certified. A quarter of their land is maintained with controlled grass growth, while the remaining 75% is ploughed regularly. The choice between maintaining grass or ploughing depends on the water stress the vines experience. If grass growth competes too heavily with the vines, it’s removed. But this approach is adaptable, changing annually or every few years based on each plot’s needs. In drier years, like 2023, a more extensive ploughing was done, except for the very old vines of Clos des Monts Luisants white. Given their challenging location on steep slopes, these vines require hands-on care, focusing mainly on the area directly under the vines and sparing the spaces in between to save on effort.

With the realities of climate change, vineyard strategies are evolving. There’s a move towards keeping more leaves on the vine for protection and shade. It’s not about achieving a taller canopy, but denser foliage. Leaf removal is now a measured process, reserved mainly for vines more susceptible to powdery mildew. Furthermore, pruning is now often scheduled as late as March to delay bud break, which can potentially protect the vines from frost damage.

In terms of disease control, their methods are fairly minimal. They resort to treatments like sulphur and copper, along with occasionally employing essential oils such as orange blossoms or certain herbs.

The philosophy in the cellar

The decision of when to harvest is based on both analytical data (pH and sugar levels) and sensory evaluation (tasting seeds, skin, etc). During the harvest, everything is done by hand, ensuring only the perfectly ripe grapes are chosen. This means that the grapes are sorted directly in the vineyard, transferred into cases of 15 kg each, and transported to the winery, bypassing any kind of sorting table.

On arrival, a vibrating table welcomes the grapes. This ensures that the tiny amounts of juice that might be oxidised during the transportation, even over the short five-minute journey from the vineyard to the winery, are eliminated. Following is the destemmer, providing 100% destemmed grapes, a trademark of Ponsot. The grapes then pass into a stainless steel container, where dry ice is used to protect from oxidation, before they transition to a wooden open-top vat.

Fermentation starts naturally, without any external inoculation, typically taking three days to ferment. Alexandre stressed the importance of a quick start to the alcoholic fermentation, given that they don’t use sulphites or commercial yeasts. This rapid fermentation prevents harmful bacteria and yeast at bay. The process begins with pumpovers, followed by punchdowns as a cap forms. Temperatures are not controlled. As the must becomes warmer, around 28C or sometimes up to 31C, they check the levels of extraction. If it needs more they might do one more pumpover a day until they are happy with the result. If fermentation progresses too swiftly, it may be concluded in a temperature-regulated stainless steel tank. By the end, the wine has been allowed to sit for about two weeks. They prefer waiting more than extracting by pressing the cap harder.

For the white wines, the whole bunches are passed directly through a pneumatic press. No sulphur is used, so the must acquires an orange or brown hue. However, this preoxidation bypasses the risk associated with polyphenols. Furthermore, with grapes like Aligoté or Chardonnay, the bouquet predominantly arises from secondary or tertiary aromas during fermentation and ageing. After a brief settling overnight and racking, the natural yeast assumes command. With no temperature control, the must still stays at around 20C during fermentation. And once transferred to barrels, these white wines are left undisturbed without any batonnage.

The élevage

After pressing, the wine resides in a vat for a few days to a fortnight, facilitating a short settling. Then, it is transferred to barrels for ageing, where it stays untouched for 16 to 20 months to avoid any oxidation. This method has been followed at least since the 1980s, when Laurent joined the domaine and adopted a minimal intervention approach with little or no use of sulphites.

Ponsot only employs old oak barrels for their Pinot Noirs, reserving the new ones for Aligoté and Chardonnay. The barrels are regularly maintained and repaired to prolong their lifespan as much as possible. The oldest barrel we saw during our visit was from the 1980s. The duration of the élevage varies. For instance, a Bourgogne from a vintage  like 2020 or 2021 would rest for just 13 months, while a Grand Cru or a Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru from the hot and concentrated 2020 would require 22 months.

The cellar and the soils of Morey-Saint-Denis

The cellar lies beneath the domaine’s offices, where the deepest section preserves the ageing process at a constant natural temperature. As one descends into the cellar, one can sense the gradual change in temperature, from the partially underground sections where the fermentations take place, to the fully subterranean zones where the barrels rest. One of the walls reveals the limestone bedrock of Morey-Saint-Denis. In Morey there is an abundance of hard ‘calcaire de Prémeaux’, too tough to be penetrated by roots. Yet, it isn’t impermeable. Cracks and fissures, guide water and nutrients, which the vine roots follow, growing between the rock segments. With Burgundy’s terroir changing every meter, one also sees patches of a crumbly rock known as marl, an mix of clay and limestone. With its sponge-like character, it retains moisture, providing essential hydration to the vines.

A tasting of Domaine Ponsot

After our tour in the cellar we had an impressive tasting directed by Alexandre. We tasted mainly the 2021 and 2020 vintages, plus a small vertical of Clos de la Roche and the Mont Luisants Aligotés. 2020 is a very warm and powerful vintage, with lots of extraction and alcohol. 2021 was very difficult, needing treatments all throughout August, but even if the final yields were low, the hard work in the vineyards paid with excellent wine: great balance and freshness. All the cuvées are bottled with ArdeaSeal instead of cork.

We started with the only Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Cru left at Domaine Ponsot after Laurent’s departure.

We continued with wines from the Clos des Monts Luisants climat. This estate in Morey is divided in three appellations: the lower part is Grand Cru Clos de La Roche, the middle contains Morey Saint-Denis Premier Cru, and the upper part belongs to Morey Saint-Denis Village. All of these present a very mineral backbone in the reds, which becomes more intense as the soil becomes rockier higher up the slope.

We then passed to the 2020s, an unusual vintage with a dry and warm year. It was harvested in late August, very early for Ponsot. In contrast, 2021 was harvested by the end of September.

A short introduction to Aligoté

We then passed to taste the only Premier Cru Aligoté in Burgundy. Historically, Aligoté was a common sight in Burgundy’s vineyards until the 19th century. However, the aftermath of the phylloxera crisis saw vineyards lean towards more consistent and easily cultivated grape varieties, notably Chardonnay. The 20th century wasn’t kind to Aligoté’s reputation, painting it as an unripe grape. This was largely due to its cultivation in rich soils with a lot of clay, leading to green, acidic wines. But this hadn’t always been the case; before phylloxera, Aligoté grown in rocky soils like Clos des Monts Luisants was known to produce richer wines.

In general, Aligoté grapes ripen a bit later than Chardonnay and often after Pinot. Their yield can be high in certain years, so they’re planted in poorer soils to naturally manage the production levels. It’s not a naturally aromatic grape, so it’s during fermentation and ageing that Aligoté develops its flavour profile. Over 10 or 15 years of ageing, it can deliver aromas reminiscent of old Chardonnay or Riesling – even hints of petrol like some aged Rieslings.