Domaine Ponsot Charmes Chambertin Cuvee Merles 2005 Bouteille (75cl)
The 2005 Domaine Ponsot Charmes-Chambertin Cuvée des Merles is a red Burgundy Grand Cru from the Charmes-Chambertin parcel in Gevrey-Chambertin. This cuvée is 100% Pinot Noir. The Wine Advocate awards it 90-92/100, describing a bouquet of slightly stewed blackberry, beetroot, and licorice. The palate is silky and concentrated with dark fruit, leading into fleshy and chalky nuances with slightly grainy tannins.
La bouteille proposée
- Size
- Bottle (75cl)
- Packaging
- Loose
- Label Condition
- Perfect
- Fill Level
- Perfect
- Capsule Condition
- Perfect
Identité du vin
- Couleur
- Red
- Pays
- France
- Région
- Bourgogne
- Appellation
- Gevrey Chambertin
- Producteur / Domaine
- Domaine Ponsot
- Parcelle / Cru
- Charmes-Chambertin (Gevrey Chambertin)
- Cuvée
- Cuvée des Merles
- Millésime
- 2005
Cépage et assemblage
- Grape Variety
- 100% Pinot Noir
Domaine Ponsot
Domaine Ponsot is a family-run estate based in Morey-Saint-Denis, in the Côte de Nuits, whose origins date back to 1872. In particular, it cultivates plots in Clos de la Roche and holds the exclusive rights to the white premier cru Clos des Monts-Luisants, planted with Aligoté. The estate is managed by Rose-Marie Ponsot, with Alexandre Abel in charge of winemaking.
- Owner
- Famille Ponsot (Rose-Marie, Catherine et Stéphanie Ponsot)
- Maître de chais
- Alexandre Abel
- Surface (ha)
- 8.00 ha
- Production (average bottles per vintage)
- environ 50 000 bouteilles/an
Histoire du domaine
Domaine Ponsot traces its origins back to 1872, when William Ponsot acquired the Clos des Monts-Luisants and a plot of the Clos de la Roche in Morey-Saint-Denis. Following the phylloxera crisis, in 1911 he replanted his white wine plot at Monts-Luisants with Aligoté; some of these vines are still in the ground today. His godson, Hippolyte Ponsot, succeeded him in 1920 and expanded the estate by acquiring another plot of Clos de la Roche. He then embarked on a programme to replant Pinot Noir vines during the 1920s and 1930s. Hippolyte began bottling on the estate in 1921, and the wines were exported from the 1930s onwards. A lawyer by training, he played a part in the work to safeguard Burgundy’s appellations contrôlées. From the 1950s onwards, Jean-Marie Ponsot developed soil management practices and continued massal selections of Pinot Noir, which led to the clones released in the 1970s and 1980s. Laurent Ponsot joined the estate in 1981, before taking over its management alongside his sister Rose-Marie from 1997 onwards. Laurent Ponsot stepped down from the family business in 2017 to found his own winery; Rose-Marie Ponsot then took over the management of the estate. Alexandre Abel has been in charge of winemaking since 2017, whilst Rose-Marie Ponsot has been chair of Domaine Ponsot since 2020.
Cuvée des Merles
“Cuvée des Merles” is the name under which Domaine Ponsot marketed its red Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru. This Pinot Noir cuvée came from a small parcel of vines in the Charmes-Chambertin appellation and appears in numerous documented vintages of the estate.
- Style of the cuvée
- A grand cru that is generally ample, deep, and generous, combining red and black fruits, spices, and earthy nuances. Its power is balanced by a satin-like texture, fine tannins, and an elegant expression of Pinot Noir.
- Position within the range
- Grand cru from Gevrey-Chambertin, positioned at the top of the historical red wine range of Domaine Ponsot.
Histoire de la cuvée
The cuvée is historically attested in the range of Domaine Ponsot, notably through professional documents and bottles marketed under the heading "Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Cuvée des Merles". However, it no longer appears in the range currently presented on the estate's official website.
Charmes-Chambertin (Gevrey Chambertin)
Charmes-Chambertin is a red Grand Cru appellation and a physically demarcated terroir within the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin, comprising the lieux-dits Aux Charmes and Mazoyères. The vineyard occupies a slight piedmont bench, between 260 and 280 meters in altitude, at the mouth of the Combe Grisard. Its shallow, carbonated and well-draining soils combine limestone gravel, clays and red silts; the parcels of Aux Charmes face mostly east to east-northeast, while Mazoyères is oriented more towards the south. The demarcated area of Mazoyères-Chambertin coincides with that of Charmes-Chambertin, the latter name being commonly claimed.
- Vineyard commune
- Gevrey-Chambertin
- Origin of the vineyard name
- "Charmes", close to "chaumes" (stubbles), is thought to refer to lean, stony and dry soils. "Mazoyères" evokes an ancient, vanished group of houses.
- Exposure
- East to east-northeast; Mazoyères is more south-facing
- Altitude
- 260–280 m
- Slope
- Gentle slopes
- Soil
- Slightly developed, carbonated and shallow soils, rich in limestone gravel, clays and red silts, with good drainage.
- Subsoil and geology
- To the west, hard Bajocian limestones; to the east, tertiary formations of the Bresse plain, beneath a calcareous clay-gravel alluvial fan originating from the Combe Grisard.
Le domaine dans cette parcelle
- Vineyard holding status
- negociant / grape purchase
Histoire de la parcelle
The reputation of the climats Aux Charmes and Mazoyères is attested as early as the 18th century. In 1855, Jules Lavalle classified them partly as first cuvée and partly as second cuvée. A 1931 ruling by the Dijon court sanctioned the addition of the name Chambertin and established the boundaries of the appellation d'origine; the AOC Charmes-Chambertin was subsequently recognized by decree on July 31, 1937. The parcel area currently specified in the product specification cahier des charges was approved by the INAO on May 17 and 18, 1984.
