Domaine Ponsot Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Cuvee des Alouettes 2019

Domaine Ponsot is one of the great originals of Morey-Saint-Denis — a domaine that has consistently refused to follow fashion, pioneering estate bottling in 1932 and exporting to the United States in 1934, long before either practice was common in Burgundy. The estate has always sought to express the richness of Burgundy terroir through natural cultivation practices: late harvesting, 100% destemming, ageing in seasoned old oak barrels with no new wood — wines neither fined nor filtered, with sulphur use eliminated from 1988. The philosophy is direct: to make wine, not wine-and-oak-based beverages. The Cuvée des Alouettes comes from 1.29 hectares in the Clos des Monts Luisants, on the upper slope above the portion that goes into the Clos de la Roche grand cru — and Rose-Marie Ponsot's description of it is the most revealing thing you can say: "a little Clos de la Roche" — less influenced by the shade from the forest in this part of the vineyard, producing a wine full of bramble and black cherry fruit, supported by fresh acidity and granular tannins. 

The expressive nose comprises the perfumed essence of various red berries along with floral and anise whiffs — the mouthfeel of even finer medium-weight flavours enhanced by evident minerality on a notably complex and persistent finish underpinned by firm tannins. Raspberries, cherries and sweet berries mingle with hints of orange rind, dark chocolate and licorice — medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, fleshier and more concentrated than its communal sibling. On the nose rich and elegant, blending bright red fruits of cherry and red plum with floral notes of rose and a subtle hint of underbrush; on the palate impressive concentration and refined structure.