Winemaker Notes
The nose is open, fine and elegant: some slight hints of wood (vanilla, smokiness) and a lot of red fruit (raspberry). The palate is equally fine and elegant, with lots of latent strength; the finish is at the same time soft and complex and above all very long. An attractive wine, which charmed us throughout the period of maturation in oak for the wines of this vintage (which weren't all easy) and whose enchanting character can be found in the bottle.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Toasty aromas are not enough to smother the intense, rich and concentrated fruitiness of this powerful wine. Structured and with a firm backbone, it is slow in developing. its brooding dark character still very obvious. However, the fruit is all there, waiting to release the burst of red-berry flavors.
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.