Domaine Ponsot, GRAND ASSORTIMENT x6: Clos de la Roche: 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015

Vertical Tasting fan? Heres your chance to get this very special selection:

Domaine Ponsot, GRAND ASSORTIMENT - VERTICAL Clos de la Roche Grand Cru: 1x 2010; 1x 2011; 1x 2012; 1x 2013; 1x 2014; 1x 2015.

2011
Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. Laurent Ponsot's Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes '11 is reticent at first and demands coaxing, although it repays the patient imbiber with lively floral scents that are entwined with strawberry pastilles and cranberry. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy and almost corpulent entry, at least for a 2011 Côte de Nuits. There is admirable depth here with fleshy strawberry and red cherry notes infused with fennel and sage. It lingers for a very long time, which is quite unusual for this vintage. While it needs another few years to completely coalesce, it will be worth the wait. 95 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate. 

2012
Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru from Laurent Ponsot has an extravagant, generous nose with hints of kirsch and raisin infusing the cranberry and blueberry fruit. Fortunately it does seem to calm down in the glass, rein in some of that nascent enthusiasm. The palate is sweet on the entry with red fruit, marmalade and dried orange peel. This is a grand cru that just wants to go out and please, a sexy Pinot Noir that does not hold back, which is what you want from this grand cru. This is a tempting offering, so much so that it is easy to overlook its pedigree. 96 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate. 

2013
The 2013 Clos de la Roche Cuvee Vieilles Vignes, from vines planted in 1905, has an inviting, delineated bouquet with vibrant wild strawberry, raspberry preserve and mineral notes. The palate has great tension, so suave and poised with superb symmetry and an effortless finish that I don?t think the Clos Saint Denis has at the moment. Laurent Ponsot did not disguise his enthusiasm for this Grand Cru and I could understand why.95-97 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate. 

2014
The 2014 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvee 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. 

2015
Voluptuous red fruits on the nose, velvety and seductive. A sleek attack, opulent and luxurious with striking depth and concentration of fruit. The firm tannins are balanced by fine acidity, and this has fabulous balance and remarkable length. It will live for decades. 97/100 Stephen Brook, Decanter.