Description
RP (92-94) - The Wine Advocate - William Kelley
Lavish and expressive, the 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Cuvée des Merles bursts from the glass with a fruit-driven bouquet of ripe cherries, licorice, spices and sweet soil that is typical of this vineyard. Full-bodied, satiny and expansive, the wine's fine structuring tannins are entirely cloaked in succulent fruit. The finish displays good length and delineation. Of all Ponsot's grands crus, this will be the best bet for near-term consumption.
The 2017 vintage is Domaine Ponsot's first since the departure of Laurent Ponsot, so I'm delighted to report that it's not merely a resounding success for the new team, but that Ponsot has produced some of the wines of the vintage. What has changed? The new team has made a few small refinements in technique. Fixed must lines, for example, are no longer used to transport the grapes from destemmer to tank: instead, the berries fall into a sump that's emptied into the tanks by forklift—a technique both more delicate and more sanitary. White grapes are no longer crushed before pressing. But the Ponsot style—characterized by late harvesting, complete destemming and élevage without any new oak—is faithfully respected. As is often the case, the domaine was among the last to harvest in the Côte de Nuits, and that decision seems to have paid off in the form of wines that are among the most concentrated and intense of the vintage, and which show not the slightest trace of overripeness. In short, 2017 is at this address a worthy successor to a superb 2016 vintage. Rose-Marie Ponsot, Alexandre Abel and the whole Ponsot team should be very proud indeed.