Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This powerful white moves into red wine territory with touches of pale strawberry in its layered flavors. What’s more prominent is the ample leesiness, highlighted by scents of flower petals and lime zest. Along with that lime acidity, there’s enough salinity to cut through the richness of the flavor and keep the finish lively. Built to cellar for five years or more.
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Wine Spectator
Like liquid candy, this combines lemon cake, apple, floral and spice flavors seamlessly, with fine underlying structure. Harmonious and long, echoing with spice on the finish. Drink now through 2020.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Vougeot Clos du Prieuré Blanc was showing new oak on the nose (30%) that will need to be assimilated. The palate is clean and fresh with orange zest and mandarin notes, a keen line of acidity and a touch of sherbet on the finish. This is not bad at all and may merit a higher score post-bottling.
Range: 89-91
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.