Winemaker Notes
Aromas of candied fruit and honey with a buttered and mineral bouquet. The wine is well-balanced and round in the mouth showing good density and superb freshness.
This wine is excellent with cheeses such as brie, gruyere, and parmesan. Also pairs nicely with chicken, salmon, lobster, and caramelized onions, and spicy cuisines.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A broad, solidly built red, with lively acidity keeping this fresh and focused. Black cherry, blackberry, earth, mineral, vanilla and toasty oak flavors abound. Offers a nicely woven texture and a long aftertaste. Best from 2022 through 2038. 200 cases made, 50 cases imported.
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Wine & Spirits
This grows at a parcel just north of Clos de Vougeot, across the road, where the domaine farms 1.5 acres of vines. The fruit is destemmed, spontaneously fermented and aged in oak barrels (50 percent new). The wine is gamey and green at first, taking time to develop past its earthy funk toward red cherry and bright floral notes. It feels airy and succulent at the same time, increasingly bold, built to cellar.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
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.