Winemaker Notes
Maison Louis Jadot "Clos Vougeot" will accompany "haute cuisine" dishes. With its delicate yet powerful aromas, one would choose red meat, roasted or served with a sauce, roasted pheasant, leg of wild boar or venison and ripe cheeses which are not too strong : Camembert, Brillat-Savarin, Citeaux.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru has a feminine, elegant and pure bouquet with Vosne-like pretentions: well defined and equipped with ebullient red fruit. The palate is very well balanced with a succulent and fleshy opening; the tannins making their present felt towards the second half. My one criticism is that at the moment it is missing a little depth and persistency on the sharp and slightly angular finish.
Range: 90-92 -
Wine Spectator
The pure cherry and raspberry flavors are driven by vivid acidity and a firm base of tannins, keeping this lean and tense, with an innate minerality. Still a bit tight and compact on the finish, but this finds equilibrium with some sweet fruit. Best from 2019 through 2032.
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.