Good question, but the only real failures I am aware of were in the mid nineties and the ā04.
That being said, the new regime has only done three vintages, and of those, I suspect only the ā17 and ā18 have been tasted by outsiders. Has anybody tasted them?
I suppose this is related enough to ask here. Iām also curious to know what people think about the Laurent Ponsot wines under his new label, if people have tried them.
Personally, I think theyāre better. But there has not been any kind of stylistic change, just some technical refinements. The style is still very much the Ponsot style.
Thereās actually a possible double upside here - Domaine wines improving post Laurent - there have been a couple of useful tweaks - and Laurentās own wines being better than anything he made during his later years at the domaine.
Laurent kept the sharecropping contracts which had been in his name when he was at Domaine Ponsot (Clos St Denis, Griotte-Chambertin etc), and also the negociant contracts which he had already established. Since setting up on his own he has added more negociant contracts and has been able to buy some vineyards as well.
The fresh start in a new winery has given him a renewed vitality which is being translated into some really good wines.
Jasper glad you are share your thoughts in this forum. Thatās exciting to hear, only if we can find the wines and it doesnāt cost the earth!
I came across this in his website:
āAs you know, I am resistant to the use of new oak barrels whose addition of an āoakā taste is for me like the addition of natural extracts of fruits or flowers in the wines: it comes neither from the terroir, or from original grapes. I consider that the barrel is only a way to oxygenate the wine by respecting its aging cycle. While waiting to be sufficiently comfortable in future buildings to increase my researches, I am already starting an experiment on the alternative to barrel aging by ultra-nano-oxygenation.ā
Any one familiar with this ultra-nano-oxygenation?