2014, Domaine Ponsot, ASSORTIMENT x6: Corton Bourdon | Charmes-Chambertin Merles | Chambertin Clos de Beze | Clos de Vougeot | Clos de la Roche | Corton-Charlemagne

2014 Horizontal Collection of excellence.
6x 2014 Vintage bottles:

Charmes-Chambertin Cuvée des Merles
The 2014 Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru Cuvee des Merles has a precise, almost pixelated, limestone-infused bouquet that blossoms in the glass with its vibrant red cherries, strawberry and bergamot scents. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannin. The acidity here is very well judged, smooth and silky in the mouth, extremely pure with stupendous precision on the long finish. It is the kind of Charmes-Chambertin that you instantly fall in love with. Beautiful...just beautiful. 94-96 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (2015).

Corton Cuvée du Bourdon
The 2014 Corton Grand Cru Cuvée de Bourdon has quite a complex bouquet, the initial rush of redcurrant and cranberry fruit followed quickly by marine/sea spray aromas, flint and limestone very subtle but there underneath. I like the definition and the focus here. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit. There is a seam of spice here, bitter red cherry, some hardness apropos that tannin towards the finish that needs a little more flesh. That may develop by the end of its ?levage. This is broody, capricious Corton, but I would like to see more charm. 89-91 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (2015).

Chambertin Clos des Beze
The 2014 Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru has a more approachable bouquet than the 2014 Chambertin; it is more forward and expressive with red cherries, raspberry preserve and orange blossom aromas, which gain intensity and volume with virtually each swirl of the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, ripe tannin. I adore the purity here, the sensuality of this Clos-de-Beze that (whisper it) you might mistake for Armand Rousseau. This might well be Laurent Ponsot's finest contribution to the vintage. 95-97 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (2015).

Clos de Vougeot
The 2014 Clos Vougeot Cuvée Vieilles Vignes took a little more coaxing from the glass than its fellow Grand Crus. Quite opaque at first, the nose is deep with a mixture of red and black fruit (blacker than Laurent Ponsot's Grand Crus from Gevrey for example). The palate is medium-bodied with fine, supple tannin and grippy in the mouth, suggesting just a little more extraction perhaps? This has real weight and presence, though I would like to see more detail and tension come through on the finish. Whatever, it will need some serious aging in the cellar. 91-93 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (2015).

Clos de la Roche V.V.
The 2014 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes reveals a pretty bouquet of red plums, blackberries, spring flowers and potpourri. On the palate, it's full-bodied, velvety and layered, with tangy acids, fine-grained but chalky tannins and a deep, concentrated core of fruit. While this has shut down, it isn't as structurally reserved as some of the top 2014s have become. It's an elegant Clos de la Roche in the making. Harvested on September 18, this was one of Ponsot's earliest harvests in recent years: the 2013 Clos de la Roche, for example, was picked on October 9. 95 William Kelley, Wine Advocate (2018).

Corton-Charlemagne
The 2014 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru has a modest bouquet, bashful at first but finding its voice with aeration; it offers attractive scents of orange blossom and lime zest, almond paste and plenty of leesy notes. The palate is well balanced with a fine line of acidity. There is decent body and depth to this Corton-Charlemagne, perhaps a touch more "tropical" than others, but that is counterbalanced by the mineral seam that pokes through on the long finish. Excellent. 92-94 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (2015).