Winemaker Notes
The Domaine's Grands Crus are matured in oak barrels, 80% of which are new and crafted from wood sourced from the Allier and Nivernais regions, with light to medium-plus toasts used to ensure harmony between the wine and wood tannins. When young, the wine shows a raspberry red to deep garnet color, with a full-bodied bouquet reminiscent of black fruit, licorice, spices, and hints of wood and leather. On the palate, melted oak gently frames aromas of black fruit, truffle, anise, and cherry, while the intense, powerful, and precise tannins carry through a long, unctuous finish. This Grand Cru has been described by Camille Rodier as "a grave and wonderful thing, powerful and free of torment." It pairs beautifully with risotto with truffles or a thick steak with pepper sauce.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru has a refined bouquet that blossoms in the glass with very fine delineation and purity of fruit. The medium-bodied palate with fine tannins, well-judged acidity, and crisp fruit shows more brightness on the finish than other cuvees. This is one of Drouhin-Laroze's best wines in 2022.
Barrel Sample: 95-97 -
Jasper Morris
No stems is the Drouhin-Laroze policy for Clos Vougeot. A dark and deep purple, with the barrel showing just a little. This has not been racked yet. We are back to the slightly saturated black fruit style. Firm on the palate, slightly dry wood tannins, yet with good energy behind. Backward, and not fully knit but with promise. Drink from 2032-2040.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru is pretty and harmonious, offering up notes of sweet raspberries and plums mingled with rose petals, orange zest and vine smoke. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with sweet tannins and a saline finish, it was entirely destemmed.
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.