Domaine du Comte Liger Belair   Nuits St Georges Aux Lavieres

2016 Nuits St Georges Aux Lavieres

By Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair

2013 Clos St Denis Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru from Ponsot, Burgundy, France

Ascending to the Olympian heights of Burgundian finesse, the 2013 vintage from Ponsot's revered portfolio is a testament to the mettle and grace of their old vines in the hallowed Clos St Denis terroir. This paramount year posed for challenges that sifted the wheat from the chaff, allowing Ponsot to once more distinguish themselves with rigorous vineyard management and masterful vinification.

 

Precise Pedigree: A Vintage with Tenacity

The season of 2013 unfurled a tapestry of climatic hurdles, weaving late frosts with a temperamental summer, but culminating in an autumnal grace period that provided an ideal final maturation. The result: a 2013 Clos St Denis Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru that positively thrums with vibrancy. The perseverance through adversity shines in each pour, embodying the nuanced complexities imbued by its birthrights of age-old vines and mineral-rich soils.

 

Meticulously Crafted, Investment-Worthy Wine

On the palate, layers reveal themselves with deliberation—dark cherries and forest floor notes pirouette alongside a whispering tannic structure and beam of acidity, courtesy of the cooler vintage conditions. Though many Burgundies from 2013 were deemed to require patience, this particular exemplar from Ponsot displays both immediate charm and the promise of profound evolution should further cellar ageing be pursued.

Today’s fine wine investor seeking not just a storied bottle but also one resilient in market fluctuations would be astute in considering the 2013 Clos St Denis Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru. It sits poised as an eloquent expression of Ponsot’s legacy intertwined with a vintage illustrating the beauty derived from unpredictability.

In summing up this vintage’s tale, we observe not just resilience but radiance—Ponsot’s definitive display of winemaking prowess under duress. This exceptional crusade against climatic caprice has yielded a fine wine ripe for discerning collections, ensuring its narrative is savoured as much as its bouquet. The 2013 year proves quite emphatically that even in less than perfect growing seasons, the venerable vineyards managed by seasoned hands can create something exquisite.

Current market price

$25,410.00

12x75cl

Highest score

89

POP score

1691.11

Scores and tasting notes

88-90

The 2016 Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Lavières was affected 25% by the frost, the quantity plummeting to 1.25 barrels instead of two. It has a rich and decadent bouquet that is floral in style, more Vosne maybe than Nuits-Saint-Georges. The palate is medium-bodied, packed full of fruit with an almost gourmand-like, savory finish that lingers in the mouth. I would like to see the oak just a little more integrated here but hey, that can happen with such a small quantity.

Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate, 29 December 2017

Vintage performance