2020 Domaine Ponsot, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes, Morey-Saint-Denis, France

From 3.2 hectares of Clos de la Roche, with vines averaging 65 years old, rooted in lean clay and limestone over a hard limestone base. Domaine Ponsot’s Cuvée Vieilles Vignes marries the Grand Cru’s natural power and depth with remarkable elegance, freshness, and exceptionally silky tannins. Fully destemmed, naturally fermented and aged for 18 months in seasoned French oak, the wine preserves a pure expression of vineyard and vintage.

98 points, Burghound
“This is also firmly reduced though again there is fine underlying tension to the slightly bigger and more powerful flavors that possess a sleek mouthfeel and evident muscle and minerality on the firmly austere but more complex and more structured finale. This won’t rival the very best vintages of this storied wine but it’s more than respectable for the vintage.”

96-98 points, Vinous
“The 2020 Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru has a beautiful, concentrated bouquet, predominantly red fruit intermingled with orange zest, blackcurrant, and pressed iris flower. The palate is very well structured with fine tannins, real weight, and depth, this Grand Cru seeming to fill every pore of the mouth. It just fans out marvelously with a residual spicy note lingering long after the wine has departed. Superb.”

94-97 points, Burghound
"A mentholated top note is present on the wonderfully broad-ranging nose of cassis, black raspberry, violet, crushed fennel, and all but invisible oak hints. There is admirably good concentration to the equally big-bodied and intense flavors that again coat the palate with dry extract that again does a fine job of buffering the even firmer tannins shaping the brilliantly persistent finale. This compact effort is packed with development potential and should ultimately mature into one of the great vintages for this storied wine."

• France – Morey-Saint-Denis, Côte de Nuits, Burgundy • Domaine Ponsot is a Burgundy icon, producing collectible Grand Cru Pinot Noirs of purity and longevity. Founded in 1872, Domaine Ponsot is one of Burgundy’s legendary estates, celebrated for its uncompromising philosophy and exceptional holdings in Morey-Saint-Denis and beyond. Laurent Ponsot led the domaine for decades, pioneering both quality practices and anti-fraud innovations in the fine wine world. The estate’s portfolio includes iconic Grand Crus such as Clos de la Roche, Clos Saint-Denis, and Chapelle-Chambertin. The wines are known for their purity, transparency, and capacity to age, often made with minimal intervention and a focus on whole-cluster fermentation. They balance richness with a lifted, aromatic quality that reflects both site and vintage. Morey-Saint-Denis lies between Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny, and Ponsot’s wines embody this middle ground: structured yet elegant, powerful yet perfumed. The domaine’s Grand and Premier Crus stand among the most collectible in Burgundy.