Description
RP (94-96) - The Wine Advocate - Neal Martin
The 2014 Clos St Denis Très Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru takes its time to open in the glass, but eventually offers raspberry preserve, wild strawberry and distant estuarine scents mixed with desiccated orange peel. The palate is medium-bodied and supple in the mouth. This is very well proportioned, very focused with a noticeable saline tang on the finish. It will deserve 4-5 years in bottle; it is a bit broody and introverted now, but it has the substance to blossom.
Laurent Ponsot was unfortunately away when I visited the domaine, but fortunately chef de cave Arnaud was on hand to guide me through the 2014s. He told me that they picked from 23 September until the beginning of October, as is customary here, later than many growers. He told me that there was some affect of the drosophila suzukii but that it was spread over the vineyards rather than specific locations. In any case, it was remedied by vigorous sorting in the vines. The malolactic was smooth and quick and finished by the end of the year. The wines will be bottled May/June 2016. It was an excellent, occasionally spellbinding set of 2014s from Ponsot, the seemingly never-ending array of Grand Crus achieving great heights, the highlights being the Clos de la Roche Très Vieilles Vignes and a wonderful Chapelle-Chambertin.