Back-Vintage Grand Cru Value
1998 Chezeaux(Ponsot)
Griotte-Chambertin
A few weeks ago, we offered the Chezeaux's 09 Griotte and it sold out almost immediately.
Today, we turn to a very small parcel of Chezeaux's 98 Griotte.
For years, Chezeaux's Griotte has been one of our most popular offerings. Still, the response to our offer on the 09 caught me off-guard.
This time I've smarted up and this offer is only going out to people who've supported the Burgundy program. However, whenever we've offered out back-vintage Red Burgundy for under the $150 mark, it's sold out in a flash. The pedigree of these perfectly stored bottles will only speed up the process.
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If you check out the label, an explanation for the popularity of Chezeaux's Griotte bottling becomes clear. It reads: "this wine is produced, aged and bottled at Domaine Ponsot." Chezeaux's Griotte is one of the big secrets and one of the great deals in Burgundy.
The value comes into focus when you compare it to pricing on Ponsot's Griotte, which goes for $200-225 per bottle.
We've covered this in past emails, but for a brief refresher: we have Chezeaux's Griotte thanks to the French practice of "métayage" - an arrangement where a wine is made in exchange for a percentage of the final product. The basic story is that Ponsot makes the wine from Chezeaux's land and, in return, he gets two-thirds of the production which he bottles under his own label. The remaining third is bottled under the Chézeaux label, which we have for you today.
Ponsot is one of the most elite producers in Burgundy. The style is unmistakable: deep, textured, so powerfully dark-fruited and yet, incredibly vivid and elegant. There is a signature at Ponsot that sets them apart from everything in the Cote d'Or.
The Griotte-Chambertin is a favorite of Ponsot's line up, and the 98 shows why this is. There's the perfumed red fruit, the finesse and the subtle notes of mineral and spice that make us love this site so much.
The 98 was a tricky vintage in Burgundy. However, the best examples have really come out of their shells over the years to become beautiful wines. Without a doubt, Ponsot's 98s are some of the strongest examples of the vintage. I've tasted the 98 Griotte many times over the years and each time it's evolved beyond what I've expected. Right now, it's starting to shine, but as the Burghound note makes clear it has decades ahead of it.
Griotte is a small appellation (3ha) and this is a single small parcel of sharply priced Grand Cru. We might be causing ourselves a headache with a sellout, but this is something to jump on.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits