I hadn’t tasted a burgundy and the other day I had a taste of a Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes 2014 (opened a day before) and it was eye opening, what a great wine, complex with great fruit, I could taste it an hour after the last sip.
Most of my pinot noir experience has been with california and oregon wines but this was different and outstanding. As I seek to purchase my first red burgundy bottle any recommendations? I’m seriously considering purchasing a bottle or two of the Ponsot Clos.
You started on the upper rung and it’s hard right now because 15’s are mainly (at least for our market) readily available, not that is a bad thing but somewhat a typical for Burgundy.
What are you looking to do? Learn more about Burgundy or just have some nice Pinot?
If it’s to have a nice bottle of Pinot, buy 15’ Grand Cru’s to cut your teeth on but if you want to learn, buy 14’s and 16’s basic level wines from village level to start to get an understanding about the region. And really any producer at this level will get you started.
I would be more specific but don’t know where you live or what your goal is and every city has different selections.
I wouldn’t start with GC from an expensive producer. I’d start with Bourgogne or village level wines from high quality producers like Hudelot-Noellat
I live in the SF bay area. The goal is to have some nice pinot, not really into waiting decades to try a wine. I don’t mind splurging and buying some grand cru’s if they are indeed great.
Joe, K&L has been getting a good selection of Faiveley wines recently. Faiveley has been making great wines in a very approachable style since 2007 (before that, they could be very stern). They have some excellent values at the low end, primarily from Mercurey (Clos des Myglands and Clos du Roy are super - around $40). The negociant Village wines from Chambolle, Vosne and Gevrey are solid. The higher end Domaine wines can be great.
All of these can be drunk now or aged.
Right now is not the best time for stock as they’ve closed out 2013 and 2014 and many 2015s have sold, but you can get some of the above. I would watch their site as they go in and out of stock all the time.
Thank you, thats I store I stop by once and a while.
I’m expecting to be given my own parking place soon.
You started at the top end, not sure if that’s good or bad. Reminded me of my first experience with Burgundy in ‘95 with the horizon tasting of DRC 1990. All downhill after that…
Not sure how easy it is to get Lucien Le Moines wines in SF but both Clos St Denis and Cazetiers are very good, just had a delicious young ‘13 CSD this week…a ‘13 no less…
Another good choice at K&L is Frédéric Esmonin. They have the 2016s which I haven’t tried yet but recent vintages have been good up and down the line. The lower end wines are below $25 and are light and pretty (I really like the Belle Vue). Gevrey Jouises under $40 is a really good value. The Grand Crus are more serious with more stuffing. The house style is a bit modern and polished with a little oak showing but very balanced.
I would start with 2014 or 2015 Bourgogne Rouge from Hudelot-Noellat (about $30) or a 2012, 2014 or 2015 villages wine from Hudelot-Noellat (Chambolle-Musigny or Vosne-Romanee) (about $50-60).
If you want to go with grand crus, look around for older wines that have been stored well. I would look for 2001s and 2002s, for example. Avoid 2004s and 2011s. Buying a young Grand Cru or even Premier Cru from say 2015 to drink now is a waste IMHO. The beauty of these wines comes with age and you are missing a lot if you drink them young.
Domaine Ponsot is a great, if somewhat inconsistent, producer. I like their wines very much. Be careful though because Laurent Ponsot left there to start his own winery. Exclusive: Laurent Ponsot Leaves Family’s Burgundy Domaine and Opens New Winery | Wine Spectator Thus, wines from the Domaine in the future may not taste like the ones you have had.
If you like Ponsot, you might try wines from other top producers that make wines from grapes from Morey-St. Denis like Clos de Lambrays, Dujac, Henri Jouan or Cecile Tremblay.
2016 Joblot Givry 1er Cru Clos du Cellier Aux Moines - $33
2016 Joblot Givry 1er Cru L’Empreinte - $35
There’s not usually much consensus on these threads, just a long list.
Can we please agree on one wine 
You do understand what you’re getting yourself into, right?
“Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate.”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lasciate%20ogni%20speranza,%20voi%20ch’entrate
2014
2015
Yes, since he already expressed a preference for Ponsot, I think we could all agree on the 1929 Ponsot Clos De la Roche.
In going from the 2014, to the 2015, it looks like prices are up by about 25% to 30%.
If you scroll down through the wine-searcher prices on the 2014, there’s actually a little bit of an anomaly, where the highest prices on the 750ml bottles agree with the lowest prices on the 1500ml bottles.
So if you really love the 2014, then a magnum of it might not be such a bad investment for you.
But my general advice with burgundy is to skip right over the village wines and most of the 1er crus altogether, and head straight for the GCs which you love.
If you can find a GC at $600 which floats your boat, then it’s infinitely more precious than a 12 bottle case of $50 village wine swill.
And these days, even $50 per bottle won’t buy you a village wine which is much better than vinegar.
If you’re willing to foot the bill, Ponsot is a great choice as a Burgundy gateway drug. The wines are generally rich and full fruited. Claude Dugat is another good option as is Mortet.
Would you say skip the Ponsot’s 1er crus as well?
If I were going to look for burg as a neophyte, Ponsot grand cru would be almost the last possible wine I would choose to buy. While good bottles can be very good, it’s in my experience 1) overpriced 2) inconsistent compared to other similarly priced wines 3) heavily faked 4) uses plastic corks.