2009 Ponsot: Within Reach - Starting at $35

2009 Ponsot within Reach
Morey-St-Denis 1er Alouettes, Gevrey l'Abeille,
Chambolle Cigale, Bourgogne Rouge Pinson

Where is the value in 2009 Burgundy?
Nearly everyone we talked to began with the same option: "Go to the great producers, but buy further down the food chain."

"Everyone" here refers to a group of Burgundy experts - including Robert Bohr, John Gilman, Michael Madrigale, Raj Vaidya - whom we interviewed to learn "The Truth About 2009 Burgundy." Click here for the inaugural edition of Crush Press.

Laurent Ponsot in the press room of the estate.

The jaw-dropping prices of the top 2009 have thus far stolen much of the spotlight and that's a shame. Burgundy has always been a rather rarefied place, but its aloofness was defined more by the ornery nature of Pinot Noir, the myriad details of Burgundy, the patience involved in coming to terms with its terroirs than by the four-digit prices its top bottlings achieved.

If there is a sense that Burgundy has become unaffordable, then today we aim to counter that argument by offering a selection of 2009 Burgundies from one of its most revered vignerons, Laurent Ponsot...

...and the pricing starts at $35. This is Ponsot, within reach. All the offerings, with notes, are below.

For those of you who follow Burgundy, you know about the ascent of Ponsot since the late 1990s - you have heard about the 2009 Clos de la Roche and the $700 price tag it currently commands. Yet this is only one part of the story at Ponsot. Here are the other stories.

2009 Bourgogne Rouge "Cuvée Pinson": This is a crazy value and we'll keep it short because we only have a few cases. The vines are in Chambolle and the wine has an uncommon style to it. Read the Burghound review below - "outstanding top value" he says, along with a lot of other nice stuff. $35 bucks.

2009 Chambolle-Musigny "Cuvée Cigale": An exceptional Chambolle - beautifully balanced, full with fruit yet fine and elegant, a thin line of minerality adding nuance and detail.

2009 Gevrey-Chambertin "Cuvée de l'Abeille": Strong Gevrey - a very powerful village wine and in this vintage of ripeness, the l'Abeille is dark and earthy, cool and mineral. The vines are in "Les Epointures," a lieu-dit near Chapelle-Chambertin and with the proper cellaring this will likely exceed all village-level expectations.

2009 Morey-St-Denis 1er "Cuvée des Alouettes": This is one of Ponsot's quiet superstars and the 2009 is likely the greatest wine he has ever made from this site. The vines are located in Monts Luisants and the wine is super dense, elegant, suave. This is a blockbuster 1er with so much depth and nuance and articulacy. A stunning 2009 - read Meadows' review below.

For those interested in other 2009 Ponsot's, including the revered Clos de la Roche, please inquire. Our Ponsot holdings are deep and we have many other bottlings available - just not enough quantity to email out.

Even with the wines on offer, quantities are limited and we expect we'll have to allocate considerably. Please give us your maximum order and your order of preference on each bottle, and we'll do the best we can.

To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits

Bourgogne Rouge Cuvée Pinson

Burghound: "Relatively strong reduction knocks down the nose but there is good freshness and vibrancy to the supple middle weight flavors that possess fine depth and almost no rusticity on the focused, complex and balanced finish. This is really very good and worth keen consideration."

Chambolle-Musigny Cuvée Cigale

Burghound: "Moderate reduction presently affects the nose such that it's hard to accurately read though there is good punch and vitality to the solidly well-concentrated medium-bodied flavors that possess a subtle minerality that continues onto the balanced, textured and reasonably persistent finish. Lovely for its level."

Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée de l’Abeille

Burghound: "Here the nose is very fresh and very Gevrey with cool and pungently earthy aromas of mineral-inflected dark berry fruit that lead to rich, round and supple middle weight flavors that possess good mid-palate fat and lovely complexity on the ever-so-mildly rustic but long finish. This is a fine villages and worth a look."

Morey-St-Denis 1er Cuvée des Alouettes

Burghound: "A very pretty nose of discreet spice notes, red currants and damp earth nuances that continue onto the rich, powerful and impressively concentrated medium-bodied flavors blessed with an abundance of dry extract that buffers the notably firm, mineral-driven and wonderfully complex finish that seems to go on and on. This is terrific and one of the best vintages that I have ever seen for this wine."

To view other 2009 Ponsots, please click here.