Domaine Ponsot Morey-Saint-Denis Cuvée des Grives 2019

A grive is the bird we call a thrush in English. This is one of the Ponsot family’s foundational wines with the first-ever crop harvested in 1872! It’s a single-vineyard wine from a 0.62-hectare plot of vines that sit just behind the domaine’s ‘Petit Château’ at the very top of the Morey slope. It’s easy to find on the map as this is the section of Monts Luisants that is designated villages, right above the 1er Cru area of the same site. The altitude here is a very high 350 metres and the soil is extremely rocky, covered with Comblanchien limestone scree (calcaire à entroques). There’s also a strong influence from the forest (shading and cool air).

All the above makes for an elongated ripening period and typically results in a much more perfumed, savoury and mineral village wine—a wine of the forest. It’s worth pointing out that most village wines in Burgundy—and certainly in Morey—tend to come from some 150 metres lower on the Côte’s slopes. So, this is rather unique.