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92
/ 100
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92
/ 100
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91
/ 100
Tasting Notes
Domaine Ponsot is one of Burgundy’s most iconic and steadfastly traditional producers, based in Morey-Saint-Denis. Established in 1872, the domaine is known for its minimal-intervention philosophy: no herbicides, no chemical treatments, indigenous yeasts, and long aging in old oak barrels. Their wines are renowned for their authenticity, age-worthiness, and ability to reflect vineyard character with remarkable clarity.
The 'Clos des Monts Luisants' is a singular vineyard in Burgundy — a monopole of Domaine Ponsot and the only Premier Cru parcel planted entirely to Aligoté. With vines dating back to 1911, this plot sits high on the slope above the village of Morey-Saint-Denis, benefiting from cooler exposures and limestone-rich soils. The domaine treats this vineyard with the same reverence as its Grand Cru reds, and the winemaking reflects that: no new oak, no fining or filtration, and extensive time in barrel to let the wine evolve naturally.
The 2014 vintage offers a vivid and age-worthy expression of old-vine Aligoté: layered with notes of citrus oil, white orchard fruit, almond skin, and crushed stone. The palate is taut and structured, showing both the breadth of old vines and the tension from its high-altitude site. Long and saline on the finish, this is not just a curiosity — it is a white wine of real pedigree and gravitas, capable of aging gracefully for decades.
Tasting Profile
- Light
- Full
- Low Tannin
- Tannic
- Sweet
- Dry
Classification: White
Variety: Aligote
Vintage: 2014
Bottle Size: 750ml (Bottle)
Country: France
Region: Burgundy, Morey-Saint-Denis
Alcohol %: 13.5%
Cellaring: 15 Plus Years
Scores
92 / 100""The very old vine Aligoté planted here has really excelled in the 2014 vintage and this is one of the best recent vintages of this wine that I can recall tasting at the domaine. The superb nose offers up a deep and nascently complex mix of apple, fresh almond, beautiful chalky minerality, fruit skins and a gently smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and rock solid at the core, with superb soil signature, bright acids and a very long, complex and vibrant finish. This will drink very well out of the blocks, but also age very gracefully.""
- John Gilman
92 / 100
""The 1994 Morey-Saint-Denis Clos des Monts Luisants Blanc 1er Cru sports a light burnished straw colour. The bouquet is quite intoxicating with heady scents of Mirabelle, honeysuckle, jasmine, lanolin and crème brûlée scents that allude to a wine from the Rhône rather than the Côte de Nuits. I noticed subtle peanut oil notes develop with time. The palate shows plenty of freshness, impressive for a 25-year old white, with ample weight and a slightly viscous texture. There are notes of peach skin and nectarine and then with aeration the crème brûlée element becomes more prominent. It gently fans out towards the finish with touches of stem ginger and rhubarb lingering on the aftertaste, seeming to expand in the glass over the course of 30 minutes. This is a delightful aged Monts Luisants that could give another decade of drinking pleasure.""
- Neal Martin
91 / 100
""Here the nose still displays notes of fermentation aromas that render it hard to assess. Otherwise there is terrific intensity and energy to the markedly stony medium weight flavors that display fine depth on the persistent finish that is also notably lemony in character.""
- Allen Meadows
