Winemaker Notes
Intense and earthy, it reveals flavors of sour cherry and fresh cherry that continue into the long finish. Its powerfulness increases with time, it becomes more refined and silkier. It has the elegance of a fine ageing wine.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
On account of the heat of the vintage and the lignification of the stems, Arnaud Mortet used 50% whole clusters on this superb expression of the Grand Cru, from 52-year-old vines just below the Château de la Tour. Framed by 70% new wood, it's a fine, textured, aromatic Pinot Noir with nothing whatsoever out of place, gliding across the palate with a serene wave. The Clos de Vougeot lives up to its appellation with wines like this.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru is also showing very well, and Mortet speculates that drier, warmer vintages are ameliorating the lower part of this large appellation—where his vines are located. Exhibiting a rich bouquet of plums and wild berries mingled with blood orange, peonies and burning embers, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and enveloping, with good depth at the core but not the slightest structural asperity.
Barrel Sample: 92-94
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Containing the largest Grand Cru in all of the Côte d’Or, Vougeot, the village, takes its name from the small stream flowing through it, called Vouge. Over three quarters of the village retains Grand Cru status, and a single vineyard at that: Clos de Vougeot (or simply, Clos Vougeot). Its mass—over 50 ha—retains the single name chiefly for historic reasons.
But today, Clos de Vougeot contains over 80 owners and shows significant soil and slope variations within its boundaries. The top, bordering Musigny and Grands Echezeaux, is calcareous and gravelly on oolitic limestone and exhibits wonderful drainage. The middle sections are limestone, gravel and clay with less of a slope. The lower part has little slant and is mostly made of clay. Historically the diverse parcels were blended but today the abundance of owners means that everyone has his own style. Exploring and understanding them is part of the allure of Clos de Vougeot.
In general a fine Clos de Vougeot when young will be dense and dark but juicy, with a pronounced austerity, and needs a good ten years to bring it to its full potential.