2017 Domaine Ponsot, Chapelle Chambertin 750ml x 6 bottles

WA95

A pure and inviting bouquet of plums, raspberries, rose petals and peonies introduces Ponsot's 2017 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, a full-bodied, satiny wine that's concentrated and incisive, retaining all the suppleness and charm it displayed in barrel but having gained additional depth and reserve with further élevage and some time in bottle. This has turned out brilliantly and will merit a dozen years' bottle age to really show all its potential, even if it will be approachable sooner. Domaine Ponsot began their harvest in the Côte de Nuits on September 6, concluding six days later, and winemaker Alexandre Abel opted to extract gently, as color and tannin came rapidly this year. The wines have turned out very well, cut from very different cloth than the immensely charming 2017s—which are revisited from bottle here. Though alcohols are not especially extreme, ranging from 13.6% to 14.1%, the 2018s chez Ponsot are muscular and structured, built for the long haul, but they remain very much faithful to both the domaine's style and its terroirs. So, congratulations are due to Alexandre Able and Rose-Marie Ponsot on another very successful vintage.