Producer note: In case there are any readers who haven't been paying attention to recent events, Laurent Ponsot (see immediately below) has departed the domaine to pursue his own activities. Because he remains the sharecropper for the Mercier family's holdings, which includes the parcels in Chambertin, Griotte-Chambertin, Clos St. Denis and the Chambolle 1er "Les Charmes", those wines no long appear under the Domaine Ponsot label. The other wines that were produced by the domaine though continue as before though now under the direction of Laurent's sister Rose-Marie Ponsot and winemaker Alexandre Abel. I was received on this trip by Rose-Marie and she told me that 2018 threw us a variety of curve balls "with a severe attack of mildew in the spring followed by an uneven flowering but then the weather turned hot and dry and basically remained that way through to the harvest. We originally thought that picking would begin on the 12th of September but maturities advanced so quickly that in the end we began in the Côte de Beaune on the 3rd, in the Côte de Nuits on the 6th and then finally we brought in the whites on the 12th. We didn't rush during the harvest; in fact it was relatively extended because we wanted to pick each parcel at its optimal level of ripeness. There wasn't much sorting required as the fruit was exceptionally clean with one exception which is that we had an attack of wasps in Clos de la Roche so those damaged berries had to be carefully sorted out. Yields were good without being high with potential alcohols that ranged from 13.6 to 14.1%. We did a lighter than usual vinification because it was important not to over extract the structural elements but other than carefully monitoring the fermentations, we had no problems with them. The malos were over quickly one of the interesting aspects of the 2018s is how much they continue to evolve during the élevage. Initially they seemed quite marked by the heat of the growing season but with each passing month they seem to become fresher and more vibrant with better terroir transparency." I also had the chance to taste the 2016 Clos de la Roche, which was vinified by Laurent Ponsot but the élevage after February 2017 was undertaken by Mme. Ponsot and M. Abel. (Vineyard Brands, www.vineyardbrands.com, AL, USA; Goedhuis & Co., www.goedhuis.com, The Rare & Fine Wine Company Limited, www.therareandfinewinecompany.com, Berkmann Wine Cellars, www.berkmann.co.uk and Lay & Wheeler, www.laywheeler.com, all UK; Altaya Wines, www.altayawines.com, Kerry Wines, www.kerrywines.com, both Hong Kong; SAQ, www.saq.com, Montreal, Halpern Wine Company, www.halpernwine.com, LCBO, www.lcbo.com, Ontario, all Canada).