### 1994 Domaine Ponsot Morey-Saint-Denis Clos des Monts Luisants Blanc 1er Cru 

BY NEAL MARTIN | NOVEMBER 11, 2019

It is a pity that Aligoté must reside in the shadow of Chardonnay. Too often it is dismissed, not only by consumers, but winemakers themselves since many “forget” to show me their Bourgogne Aligoté during cellar visits. Thankfully in recent years there has been a reappraisal of Aligoté spearheaded by Marsannay-based Sylvain Pataille and the grape is finally receiving due respect. Probably the most famous Aligoté is Domaine Ponsot’s Clos des Monts Luisants, a Premier Cru in Morey-Saint-Denis, although it has not always been dedicated to this variety. Monts Luisants _was_ originally planted with Aligoté in 1911. Laurent Ponsot’s grandfather expanded the holding with cuttings from a mutant strain of white Pinot Noir courtesy of Henri Gouges, then Jean-Marie Ponsot added some rows of Chardonnay to create a three-way blend. Laurent Ponsot was dissatisfied with the Chardonnay and white Pinot Noir that he deemed ill matched to the soil, so pulled them out in 2004 and reverted the entire 0.90-hectare Premier Cru to Aligoté. Laurent Ponsot always maintained that this cru should be drunk young or left to age. A bottle poured blind at Noble Rot restaurant proved him correct. It certainly left former sommelier turned winemaker/writer, Raj Parr and yours truly scratching our heads wondering where it could be from!

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1573488747938-ponsot_montluisant_1994.jpg)

The **1994 Morey-Saint-Denis Clos des Monts Luisants Blanc 1er Cru** sports a light burnished straw colour. The bouquet is quite intoxicating with heady scents of Mirabelle, honeysuckle, jasmine, lanolin and crème brûlée scents that allude to a wine from the Rhône rather than the Côte de Nuits. I noticed subtle peanut oil notes develop with time. The palate shows plenty of freshness, impressive for a 25-year old white, with ample weight and a slightly viscous texture. There are notes of peach skin and nectarine and then with aeration the crème brûlée element becomes more prominent. It gently fans out towards the finish with touches of stem ginger and rhubarb lingering on the aftertaste, seeming to expand in the glass over the course of 30 minutes. This is a delightful aged Monts Luisants that could give another decade of drinking pleasure. **92** /Drink 2019-2029.



Cellar Favorite: 1994 Domaine Ponsot Morey-Saint-Denis Clos des Monts Luisants Blanc 1er Cru

Cellar Favorite: 1994 Domaine Ponsot Morey-Saint-Denis Clos des Monts Luisants Blanc 1er Cru (Nov 2019)

ConstantScore(-article_id:{312 381 422 466 735 1092 1114 1146 1208 1209 1210 1231 1235 1241 1242 1245 1249 1258 1261 1276 1283 1298 1302 1312 1321 1325 1338 1601 1734 1980 1998 2164 2193 2198 2268 2425 2529 2566 2825 2994 3120 3140 3371 3977 4341} #producer.id:11264 #article_id:[2427 TO 2427])

DocValuesFieldExistsQuery [field=_primary_term]

Domaine Ponsot

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social