LeDomduVin: A few bottles opened for a private dinner

A few bottles opened for a private dinner. 

Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne 2002
(Superb and still fresh and lively)

Domaine Ramonet Montrachet 1993 (1.5L)
(totally oxidized, old)

Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny 1991 (1.5L)
(benefitted from the magnum size, good but not great, yet not that bad for a poor to average vintage in Burgundy)

Château l'Eglise Clinet Pomerol 2010
(really nice, loved it)

Dom Perignon Vintage Rosé 1985 (1.5L)
(still alive and kicking, very nice, it also benefitted from the magnum size)

Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin 2016
(magnificent wine, excellent)

Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes 2019
(one of my favorite wines of these past few years, love it, still very young)


Cheers! Santé!

Dom


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LeDomduVin: The usual suspect - Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Burgundy 2019

The usual suspect

Those who follow me know that I have opened this wine countless times over the last three years, hence my calling it “the usual suspect”!

What can I say? I love this wine; and it gets better every time I open it

Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Burgundy 2019

It is still a young wine, and over the last three years, it has gone through “open and closed” phases. Yet, this time again, it was open and delicious!

Right after opening, attractive, exuberant scents emanated from the bottle. Dense and bright ruby color in the glass. Beautiful wild red and dark cherry, floral, spicy, lightly oaky aromas combined with mineral and earthy nuances filled the room.

The palate is bright, juicy, complex, layered, rich, yet delicate, elegant, sophisticated, and superbly balanced between the fruit, the acidity, and the integrated tannins. The structured and textured mid-palate leads to the seamless and lingering finish, which immediately calls for another glass. I looooove this wine.

In a recent conversation with a customer, I explained that as a Sommelier, I look for the “Wow!” factor in a wine; this instant gratification and satisfaction that makes you want another glass as soon as you finish the first one.

I love buying, serving, and drinking these types of wine, especially when there is an excellent quality/price ratio.

Wine does not have to be expensive to be good. Plenty of “supposedly” premium wines and established brands, such as Chateaux and Domaines, sell lesser wines, especially in lesser vintages.

Despite the price they command, even DRC or Petrus makes wines that are not worth the cost in lesser years.

For me, whether it costs 10 or 1000 euros, good wine must give you instant satisfaction and gratification and make you want to drink more. And this “Clos de La Roche Vieilles Vignes” from Domaine Ponsot does just that!

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

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LeDomduVin: 3 to Party

3 to party

The other night, I opened 3 bottles of these 3 beautiful wines for a private party. What a blast! 

Krug Vintage 2000

Krug 2000 is a rich and complex vintage champagne that mimics the uniqueness of the last year of the millennium. Nicknamed "Stormy Indulgence," it is dense and intense. Beyond its attractive pale golden color and fine bubbles, it boasts aromatics of yellow and stone fruits, mingling lightly toasted brioche, mineral stones, and sea breeze notes. The palate is gorgeous, rich, complex, layered, and lengthy. What a beauty! 

Louis Latour Batard Montrachet 2016

This wine exemplifies the exceptional aging potential of high-quality white burgundy, particularly those bearing the name "Montrachet". At 7 years old, this Bâtard-Montrachet from Louis Latour was at the perfect age for consumption. Its pale gold color is a sign of age, and yet, it possesses a youthful nose, boasting complex aromas of stone fruits and hints of vanilla mixed with smoky and toasty notes. The palate is medium to full-bodied, rich, and well-balanced, with hints of buttery, mineral, herbal and brioche nuances. The finish is refreshing, with a pleasant hint of saltiness and chalky minerality. Love it. 

Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes 2019

Ponsot is a staple in my book, and this “Clos de le Rocche VV 2019” has been recurring in my choice of wine for different events over the past 10 months. Some may argue that it is too young and must be waited for a few years. And yet, it is such a good wine, and it has been so approachable these past months that I could not resist serving it again. Light in color, yet intense and dense in the nose and palate. The nose offers bright, freshly crushed wild red cherry aromas with floral, mineral, and earthy notes. Medium-bodied, the palate is vibrant, vivid, fresh, elegant, and refined, with a long, delightful finish. Love it. 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Mise en place

Mise en place

Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 2012

Philippe Colin Chevalier-Montrachet 2019

Anne Gros Echezeaux 2019

Ponsot Clos de la Roche VV 2019

Palmer 2009

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Comme un Vendredi

Comme un Vendredi 

Today's « mise en place » for lunch. 

« Ça, c'est du lourd !!! » as we say in French!

Domaine Perrot-Minot Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru « La Richemone » Vignes Centenaires 2018

A classic in my selection. I have opened several bottles these past ten months and absolutely love it. 

Domaine Ponsot « Clos de La Roche » Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 2019

Another classic in my book. It is the one I opened for today’s private lunch, and damn, that is a gorgeous wine!!! A stunning beauty! 

Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2014 Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac 2014

From a lesser vintage (a “classic vintage”, as they say in Bordeaux), it was not my choice, but it ended up in the selection. I did not open it this time. And, anyway, it is still too young, and more time will do it good. However, if you want to open it, decant it for about 3 hours before serving it. It should soften the dry, firm, slightly green tannins still in the finish. 

Petrus Pomerol 1989

I did not open this one as it was given as a gift to one of the guests. However, I was lucky enough to have opened many bottles in the last 12 years (especially at my previous job for nine years). It is a stunning wine, and this bottle was in pristine condition with a high level. I inspected it carefully, and, for those of you who may wonder, it was a real one. It must have been reconditioned at the property in the past 15 to 20 years; otherwise, it is impossible. It is a rare sight, as there are not many left in the market (real ones, I mean, as many Petrus from the 80s were counterfeited, so there are probably quite a few fake ones still out there).

I love my job! 

Cheers! Santé

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 2002 - The capsule differences

Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 2002 - The capsule differences

Laurie Vainio, a talented Sommelier and ex-colleague (as we worked for the same company a few years back), asked me about the capsule's differences between these 2 bottles of Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche 2002. 

He sent me these pictures, and as I did not have the answer (and could not find much online), I decided to call  Domaine Ponsot directly. 

They said that both capsules are real, and their difference is: 

The Red capsule corresponds to the first release back in 2004/2005 and other eventual releases before 2007. 

The Brown/Golden capsule corresponds to later releases after 2007, with:

- Prooftag label from 2007 to 2014 (see picture)

- Numeric label (aka e-label) after 2014 

I can not go into more detail to prevent counterfeiters from using them. 

However, I believe this answer from the Domaine is worth sharing among Sommeliers (like Lauri and me) and other wine professionals who may be unaware of this fact. 

And if you did not know, now you know. 😁👍🍷

NB: The change of capsule and label details coincide with Rudy Kurniawan's case, when, in 2008, he consigned about 84 bottles supposedly to be from Domaine Ponsot at auction, including 1929, which could not have existed as the Domaine only started bottling in 1934. Mr. Ponsot flew to New York to ensure that the counterfeited bottles of his family domaine’s Clos St Denis, listed in the Acker Merall & Condit auction, would not appear at the auction, and yet... Laurent Ponsot of Domaine Ponsot worked closely with the FBI, which led to the arrest of Rudy Kurniawan on March 8 2012. And the rest is history. It is said that despite efforts to retrieve them, a large number of Rudy's counterfeited bottles are still on the market. Watch the 2016 movie "Sour Grapes" if you do not know the story. It is quite fascinating how he succeeded in doing such a "Tour de force"!

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

📷 Credit: Lauri Vainio

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LeDomduVin: Ponsot on top of the world

Ponsot on top of the world 

Serving Domaine Ponsot Clos de Vougeot 2010 for a private lunch in one of the tallest buildings in Hong Kong...  What else? 

And, of course, I could not help myself from taking a few pictures of the bottle and the magnificent views of Victoria Harbour and TST (Kowloon). Mesmerizing view as you can see in this picture below (better not be afraid of height).  

I also took a portrait of myself too. And, believe me, or not, the first picture was not intentional, it was just a trial (as I took these pictures alone), and I did not position the phone correctly and cut my head off. 

Yet, I really liked the result, as it kind of looked like a picture you could see in a wine magazine (*), as an advertisement for @domaineponsot for example...  ... just saying...😉

NB: don't thank me, just send me the money, I take cash and bank transfers 😉😎😁🤣🤣🤣👍🍷🍷🍷(just kidding)

Let's get back to the wine. 

Domaine Ponsot Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Bourgogne 

Average Market Price HKD 4,340 (Euro 553  / USD 553)

Tight and muted at first (**), the wine opened up and tasted beautifully after about 45 minutes of opening, and was even better after 2 hours. Loved it. Showing a discreet yet charming scent of fresh red cherry mingling with floral and mineral notes and earthy nuances, in both the nose and the palate. Offers a very nice balance, structure, and texture in a delicate and refined mouthfeel from the subtle attack, expanding gracefully to the lingering finish. What a charming wine!  

Given the vintage 2010 was a difficult vintage that ended up being extremely good for those who adopted proper vineyard management and, more especially, careful sorting during the harvest, I was not too sure what to expect. Yet, Domaine Ponsot being one of the top producers, I was not taking much risk there. 

The wine does not have the body and opulence of the 2009 vintage, a much warmer and easier vintage compared to 2010, which experienced heavy frost in December 2009, poor conditions during the flowering in June, then a damp summer, yet fortunately some sun in September in until the end of the harvest in October, which allowed for the grapes to mature nicely and reach full phenolic ripeness, which ended up saving the vintage that was otherwise heading to be a disaster.            

After posting these pictures and a short version of this post on my Facebook and Instagram accounts, I had a few people asking about the plastique cork. Some were asking when Domaine Ponsot does not use real corks to seal their bottles? 

So, for those of you who may not know it yet, Domaine Ponsot has adopted ARDEASEAL thermoplastic/bioplastic stoppers since the 2010 vintage and does not use the real cork anymore.   

If interested, there is an article from www.burgundy-report.com, written in August 2010, that talks about it, with a PDF to download on Laurent Ponsot's point of view on his choice to change his corks for ARDEA. 

You can read it at https://www.burgundy-report.com/2010/08/laurent-ponsots-new-plastic-corks/

Thank you for reading my post. Remember to drink responsibly, and take good care of yourself and your loved ones.  

Santé! Cheers! 

Dom

(*) maybe I should change career and become a model for wine, as long as my face is not in the picture, that's ok, isn't it? I love this first picture. 😁😎👍🤘🍷

(**) Some people asked me if I should have decanted it, to which I answered that I did not decant it, and I do not think that I should have either, even if the wine was tight and muted, as Burgundy reds usually just need a bit of air within the bottle and a bit of time to open up, but decanting them might shock them and they may not react well to decantation. Moreover, I usually do not decant Burgundy reds (Burgundy whites yes, very often, especially the Premier Cru and Grand Cru, but Burgundy Reds never, unless really needed, but that does not happen very often).  

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