Clos de la Roche VV, Domaine Ponsot 2020

A mentholated top note is present on the wonderfully broad-ranging nose of notably ripe cassis, black raspberry, violet, crushed fennel and all but invisible oak hints. There is superb concentration to the big-bodied and intense flavors that coat the palate with dry extract that does a fine job of buffering the exceptionally firm tannins shaping the brilliantly persistent and fantastically complex finale. This compact effort is packed with development potential and should ultimately mature into one of the great vintages for this storied wine. In a word, brilliant.

Marvellous purple colour. The nose is seductively heady but with underlying class. Takes time to dig out, but there is a sensuality waiting to pounce. Much more together, rather less of a vinification style. It is still quite a brash fruit that comes out at the front of the palate, then the real wine further behind. The finish in particular shows style as well as persistence. Clearly the superior wine in the range. Tasted: November 2021. ****

The 2020 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is brooding and powerful, unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries and cassis mingled with sweet spices, licorice, smoke and orange rind. Full-bodied, deep and muscular, with a broad attack that segues into a sweet core of fruit framed by ample reserves of rich, powdery tannins and lively acids, it concludes with a long, resonant finish. Predictably backward, this will require over a decade's patience. 2035-2060