LeDomduVin: Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 2002 - The capsule differences

Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 2002 - The capsule differences

Laurie Vainio, a talented Sommelier and ex-colleague (as we worked for the same company a few years back), asked me about the capsule's differences between these 2 bottles of Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche 2002. 

He sent me these pictures, and as I did not have the answer (and could not find much online), I decided to call  Domaine Ponsot directly. 

They said that both capsules are real, and their difference is: 

The Red capsule corresponds to the first release back in 2004/2005 and other eventual releases before 2007. 

The Brown/Golden capsule corresponds to later releases after 2007, with:

- Prooftag label from 2007 to 2014 (see picture)

- Numeric label (aka e-label) after 2014 

I can not go into more detail to prevent counterfeiters from using them. 

However, I believe this answer from the Domaine is worth sharing among Sommeliers (like Lauri and me) and other wine professionals who may be unaware of this fact. 

And if you did not know, now you know. 😁👍🍷

NB: The change of capsule and label details coincide with Rudy Kurniawan's case, when, in 2008, he consigned about 84 bottles supposedly to be from Domaine Ponsot at auction, including 1929, which could not have existed as the Domaine only started bottling in 1934. Mr. Ponsot flew to New York to ensure that the counterfeited bottles of his family domaine’s Clos St Denis, listed in the Acker Merall & Condit auction, would not appear at the auction, and yet... Laurent Ponsot of Domaine Ponsot worked closely with the FBI, which led to the arrest of Rudy Kurniawan on March 8 2012. And the rest is history. It is said that despite efforts to retrieve them, a large number of Rudy's counterfeited bottles are still on the market. Watch the 2016 movie "Sour Grapes" if you do not know the story. It is quite fascinating how he succeeded in doing such a "Tour de force"!

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

📷 Credit: Lauri Vainio

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