Winery

Ponsot | Domaine

"At Domaine Ponsot we produce wines uninfluenced by fashion. These choice are not dictated by a kind of occultism resulting from what today is known as "non-interventionism". On the contrary, it is much more difficult to resist the temptation, however human it may be, to correct such and such a defect appearing during the maturation of the wine, or to take action earlier in the process and modify vine cultivation in order to standardise quality and protect against climatic hazards. We love Wine. We love it because it's alive."

"To love it for the happiness and pleasure it brings, we are willing to put up with its bad moods, its absences and its weaknesses. We live in an impatient world, and fashion encourages us to gratify those immediate desires imposed on us through the media and through profitability."

"Swimming against the tide has never been easy. When it happens in sport, the media are only too happy to commend it. When it comes to food and wine, it would appear that some critics prefer to keep your head firmly under the water… It is often the case that our wines are inaccessible for a certain period of time, and only show themselves after a long and ungrateful adolescence, revealing a sensual and elegant being when they reach maturity. We respect the consumer and will not therefore sell any wine that does not fulfil the expectations of its appellation and its vintage. We would either send it to the distillery (as we did for the Morey Clos des Monts Luisants 1993 and 2012), or we would declassify it and reduce the price (as we did for practically all wines in the 1994 vintage)."

Laurent Ponsot

History

1872 - Originally from St Romain in Côte d'Or, William Ponsot purchased a wine estate in Morey-St-Denis and set up home there. His major parcels of land at that time were :

Clos des Monts-Luisants

Clos de la Roche

He also cultivated fruit from other appellations, such as :

Gevrey-Chambertin Les Combottes

Charmes Chambertin.

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1920 - His nephew and godson, Hippolyte Ponsot, took over the Domaine after completing his career as a diplomat. With the help of his brother, Henri Ponsot, who was also a diplomat (resident consul general in Morocco and ambassador of France in several countries), Hippolyte Ponsot substantially increased the size of Clos de la Roche by purchasing ¾ of the original "Clos de la Roche" lieu-dit.

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1932 - He started bottling his entire harvest at the Domaine. This was very rare at the time and only a dozen or so Burgundy wine estates did so before the Second World War.

The 1934 vintage was the first to be sold in France, with sales in the United States and numerous other European countries.

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1935 - A lawyer by training, Hippolyte Ponsot was one of the founders of the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) classification for Burgundy wines in 1935 and 1936.

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1960 - Jean-Marie Ponsot, using the plant selections started by his father, was a pioneer of clonal selection in Burgundy in the early 1960s.

Many of the most respected clones of Pinot Noir (113, 114, 115, 667, etc.) came from the mother-stock planted in 1954 (and still in production) in our Clos de la Roche vineyards.

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1961 - Jean-Marie Ponsot started to farm the following parcels under amétayage agreement (returning a share of the bottled harvest to the owners of the vineyard as payment) :

Chambolle-Musigny,

Chambertin,

Latricières-Chambertin

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1972 - Jacqueline Ponsot Livera, his wife, added to the estate through her inheritance of the following parcels :

Gevrey Chambertin Cuvée de l’Abeille,

Chapelle Chambertin

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1975 - The Domaine was incorporated as a landholding company with Jean-Marie Ponsot, Jacqueline Ponsot Livera, Abbot Denis Ponsot and Marie-Antoinette Ponsot as principals.

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1981 - Laurent Ponsot started working with his father Jean-Marie on the family estate and became its manager together with his sister Rose-Marie Ponsot.

He set up a new sales system, diversifying the sale of all bottled production to 44 countries. He farms the vineyards and makes wine with an emphasis on total authenticity.

Griotte Chambertin, grand cru AOC, red.

Chambertin, grand cru AOC, red.

Clos St Denis Cuvée Vieilles Vignes, grand cru AOC, red.

Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes, premier cru AOC, red.

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2001 - New appellation purchased :

Bourgogne Cuvée du Pinson, regional AOC, red.

Chambolle-Musigny Cuvée des Cigales, village AOC, red.

Charmes Chambertin, grand cru AOC, red.

Clos de Vougeot Cuvée Vieilles Vignes, grand cru AOC, red.

Corton Charlemagne, grand cru AOC, white.

Corton Cuvée du Bourdon, grand cru AOC, red.

Corton Bressandes, grand cru AOC, red.

Chambertin Clos de Bèze, grand cru AOC, red.

Montrachet, grand cru AOC, white.

Saint Romain Cuvée de la Mésange, village AOC, white.

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Today, the estate continues to be an entirely family-run business, its various entities being owned by Laurent Ponsot and his sisters, Rose-Marie, Catherine and Stéphanie Ponsot.

Available Wines

2016 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche

2019 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche

2018 Domaine Ponsot Morey Alouettes

2019 Domaine Ponsot Morey Alouettes

2011 Ponsot Chapelle-Chambertin

2014 Ponsot Chapelle-Chambertin

2011 Ponsot Clos de la Roche

2014 Ponsot Clos de la Roche

2015 Ponsot Clos de la Roche

2014 Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin

2014 Ponsot Morey St Denis Monts Luisants Blanc VV