Clos de la Roche VV, Domaine Ponsot 2008

The 2008 Clos de la Roche Cuvee Vieilles Vignes is a silky, elegant wine. Freshly cut roses, dark red fruit and minerals sit on a core of utterly refined tannins. This shows stunning balance in a weightless style that gains energy on the clean, focused finish. This is a fabulous effort from Ponsot. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2033.

**Note: the aggregate size of this holding is a whopping 3.4 ha and Ponsot is easily the largest holder in Clos de la Roche**Heavy reduction blocks the nose though it's possible to discern that beneath the funk lies very ripe fruit. By contrast, the vibrant and powerful big-bodied flavors are wonderfully fresh and culminate in a robust and well-muscled finish that avoids any rusticity because of the huge amounts of dry extract on the palate saturating finale. I really like the sense of perfect balance plus the combination of a textured and velvety mouth feel juxtaposed against the precision and tension of the flavors and finish. In a word, terrific (but lots of patience required).