A mentholated top note is present on the wonderfully broad-ranging nose of notably ripe cassis, black raspberry, violet, crushed fennel and all but invisible oak hints. There is superb concentration to the big-bodied and intense flavors that coat the palate with dry extract that does a fine job of buffering the exceptionally firm tannins shaping the brilliantly persistent and fantastically complex finale. This compact effort is packed with development potential and should ultimately mature into one of the great vintages for this storied wine. In a word, brilliant.
98 points, Allen Meadows, Burghound (Jan 2023)
A stunning wine. One sees the richness of the year in the ripe, dense, plummy fruit, yet it avoids over-concentration and has a lovely freshness as well as impressive depth of flavour. Superb. This wine is one of the touchstones of Morey-St-Denis. Ponsot is the largest landowner in this grand cru, with 3.4ha, two-thirds of it in the historic Clos that forms the core of the appellation. The average age of the vines is 65 years and they were planted using massal selection.
98 points, Charles Curtis, Decanter (Oct 2021)
Marvellous purple colour. The nose is seductively heady but with underlying class. Takes time to dig out, but there is a sensuality waiting to pounce. Much more together, rather less of a vinification style. It is still quite a brash fruit that comes out at the front of the palate, then the real wine further behind. The finish in particular shows style as well as persistence. Clearly the superior wine in the range.
94-97 points, Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy (Nov 2021)
The 2020 Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru has a lovely, well-defined bouquet with vibrant red fruit, blackberry, graphite and damp undergrowth scents. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, structured and fresh, very saline in the mouth with a bold and assertive finish that will need several years to soften.
96 points, Neal Martin, Vinous (Nov 2022)
The 2020 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is brooding and powerful, unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries and cassis mingled with sweet spices, licorice, smoke and orange rind. Full-bodied, deep and muscular, with a broad attack that segues into a sweet core of fruit framed by ample reserves of rich, powdery tannins and lively acids, it concludes with a long, resonant finish. Predictably backward, this will require over a decade's patience.
95+ points, William Kelley, Wine Advocate (Jan 2023)
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