THE PRODUCER
Jean-Marie Ponsot, born in 1927 and long time mayor of Morey-Saint-Denis,
started working for his father in 1947, taking over full responsibility in 1957.
His son, Laurent, has been in charge of winemaking since 1983. Today the estate
owns 8.73 hectares of vineyards, of which the most famous – 3.35 hectares of the
Clos-de-la-Roche Grand Cru vineyard – is the Ponsot family’s pride and joy. In
fact, the Ponsots are the largest landowner in Clos-de-la-Roche and their
version is said to have a certain special something about it, a certain power
and intensity, which are not found in other producer’s interpretation of
Clos-de-la-Roche.

The Ponsots were among the first domaines in Burgundy to do estate bottling, in
1934, and were also amongst the first growers to understand the importance of
clonal selection in the early 1960s – many of the most important Pinot Noir
clones, used globally today, originate from the Ponsot vineyards. The family
also adopts different elements of organic and biodynamic farming but does not
want to be certified in either.

Laurent Ponsot is famous for his efforts to combat the falsification of fine
wines, which is depicted in the 2016 Netflix documentary ‘Sour Grapes’ in which
Laurent is one of the key figures in convicting wine fraudster Rudi Kurniawan. 
In 2017, Laurent Ponsot stepped down from running the estate, leaving his sister
Rose-Marie Ponsot in charge.

THE WINE
Ponsot is with 3.31 hectares the largest landowner in the Clos de la Roche grand
cru, which naturally, is the family’s pride and joy. This is the most northerly
of Morey’s grand cru vineyards, with soil rich in limestone and with clay and
pebbles in the topsoil, and a gently east-facing exposure. Ageing takes place in
10-year-old French oak barrels and lasts for 18-24 months. Ponsot’s are some of
the most expressive and aromatically vibrant wines in the Cotes, with powerful
concentration, depth, and balance.

INFORMATION
Type:Red
Vintage:2016Country:FranceRegion:Burgundy - Cote de Nuits
Sub region:Morey-Saint-DenisGrape:100% Pinot NoirStyle:Savory and Classic
Sweetness:DryABV:14%Drinking window:2026 - 2055Size:750mlFood match:Duck, Goose
and Game Birds
CRITICS SCORES
We choose our wines based on a range of criteria(seehow we choose our wines)of
which critic scores is justone. Rather than simply highlight the best score to
promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided
by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do
not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more
weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores
like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a92/100average critic score or
better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a
high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we
offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the
market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and
representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide
to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add
individual critic scores to our website in the future.