2006 Clos Vougeot

From a parcel of ancient vines up against the wall below Grands Echezeaux that he accesses through a share-cropping arrangement, Ponsot's 2006 Clos Vougeot Cuvee Vieilles Vignes appears to have violated his previously-stated labeling principles. "The vines for my Chambertin and others are as old as those in Clos de la Roche," he has said, "but 'Vieilles Vignes' has lost its meaning. Ok, we put this on the label of the Clos de la Roche because people expect it; it's become like a brand." In any event, the wine smells of and saturates the palate with elderberry, cassis, rich beef stock, and quarry dust. Predictably (or at least, according to my notion of this terroir) less refined than its grand cru siblings in the present collection, this broadly stains the palate with black fruits and iodine and combines a coarser weave of tannin with pronouncedly stony minerality. Ponsot thinks this wine's virtues will transcend its slight "roughness" and that "you just need to give it some time in the bottle." I'd say 4-5 years would be a good guess, followed by the anticipation of good behavior for half a dozen more. Picking chez Ponsot began predictably late – on September 27 – and lasted until October 5. As might have been expected, Laurent Ponsot acted rigorously in the vineyards in the immediate aftermath of hail and eventually on the sorting table (overseen, he notes, by an especially meticulous team of three young women) to insure that any effects were minimized. (For some notes on the often unorthodox methods Ponsot employs, readers should consult my report in issue 170.) Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802