Chambolle-Musigny ‘Cuvée de la Violette‘ - Pinot Noir LP

In February 2017, after 36 years at the helm of Domaine Ponsot, Laurent Ponsot left his celebrated Morey-St-Denis Estate to launch an eponymous operation with his son Clément. This was obviously a great surprise to many, if not all, Burgundy lovers, including us. Yet behind the scenes, the family had been managing Ponsot’s impending departure for some time, giving this iconoclast a buffer to set up his new venture. The reasons behind the departure remain private and, considering the complexity of untying and splitting the family’s vineyard holdings and external contracts, admirably discreet. Laurent remains a 25% silent shareholder in Domaine Ponsot, although he will be focussing exclusively on “Laurent Ponsot”. So a new icon is shaping up. The new operation, an all-in-one vineyard owner, sharecropper and négociant, is based in Gilly-lès-Cîteaux, close to the Clos de Vougeot. It’s a distinctly family affair: joining Ponsot and Clément are Ponsot’s other two children Claire and Nicolas—and importantly, Ponsot can also count on his experienced vigneron/chef de cave Arnaud Rouellat, a veteran of 20 years with Domaine Ponsot.

Review

Laurent Ponsot has farmed a tiny 0.31 of a hectare in Chambolle since 2002. The Domaine Ponsot bottling was called Cuvée des Cigales and, in spite of our protestations, the wine from this vineyard has never made the trip to Australia—until now. Burghound must have tasted this at a different stage to us as what we encountered was a beautifully rich and layered red Chambolle that was at the same time classically detailed and floral, yet with the opulence and texture that we have come to expect of this producer’s reds in 2016.

OVERIGE (17.5)
Succulent red fruit, almost syrupy on the nose. Plenty of sweet spices. If this isn’t oaked, it’s doing an uncanny impression of it. Finely ground tannin that gives quite a lot of chew. The finish is surprisingly intense and powerful after a reasonably straightforward palate, with a hint of smoke. (RH)