Jean-Marc Millot Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2010
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Quiet, unassuming, shy, yet quick to smile and jest, Jean-Marc Millot has the appearance of a young vigneron from earlier years. His hands are stained and gnarled by working with the vines, his cheeks bright rosy and complexion clear from many days in the wintry and spring-chill air. He began estate-bottling at the family domaine in 1990, working the six hectares of vines originally purchased by his grandparents after World War II. He added another 1.4 hectares when his wife inherited her share of her family's estate, and today he will tell you he has enough property: "more than eight hectares is too much for one man to work alone."
To call Jean-Marc a traditionalist would be to understate his commitment to working the land and making his wines by hand. Artisinale is perhaps the best description, but neo-Luddite would not be inappropriate. Work in the vineyards is done by hand, no tractors to help him till the soil, no pneumatic secateurs to help with pruning or harvest. The vines are tended organically without pesticides or fertilizers, and the chais shows no signs of pumps, gadgets, or fancy presses. The grape bunches are destemmed by a mechanical, not electric, device which is still turned by hand. Following the alcoholic fermentation, which includes the ancient pigeage method of Jean-Marc lowering himself into the vat to break up the cap, the wines are drained off by gravity to oak barrels for their malolactic and aging. They are tasted regularly but racked only once; just prior to being bottled and corked by hand, cask by individual cask. With yields ranging on average from 25 to 32 hectoliters per hectare, the wines are rarely anything but profound.
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.