2006 Gevrey Chambertin Cuvee de l'Abeille

The Ponsot 2006 Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvee de l’Abeille is relatively light in color but texturally richly satisfying, evidently demonstrating a sensitive and successful approach to hailed-on raw materials. Fresh cherry and cranberry make for a bright personality for which the wine's sense of textural creaminess seems the perfect foil, and charred meat offers some depth. I opine that this should be consumed young, but Ponsot – perhaps predictably – responds "I'm not sure." There was no village-level Morey-St.-Denis this year, as the vines in the upper Mont Luisants that inform it are being replanted. Picking chez Ponsot began predictably late – on September 27 – and lasted until October 5. As might have been expected, Laurent Ponsot acted rigorously in the vineyards in the immediate aftermath of hail and eventually on the sorting table (overseen, he notes, by an especially meticulous team of three young women) to insure that any effects were minimized. (For some notes on the often unorthodox methods Ponsot employs, readers should consult my report in issue 170.) Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802