Winemaker Notes
This legendary wine has great power, depth and a fragrant, floral bouquet.
Serve with roasted or sauced red meat, pheasant, venison or other large game and medium-strength cheeses such as Camembert.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Rose, cherry and spice aromas introduce this light-bodied, saturated version. The flavors add wild strawberry, incense and kirsch notes, while remaining persistent on the aleidoscopic finish. Feels tense now, yet should develop nicely over time. A mineral element lingers. Best from 2023 through 2045.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru was not impacted by the frost as the vines lie toward the bottom of the slope. It has a relatively extravagant bouquet among the grand crus from Jadot, hints of menthol infusing the red berry fruit. I wonder if that will remain once the wine is bottled? The palate is medium-bodied with juicy, ripe tannin, a fine bead of acidity, quite grippy in the mouth but the finish is not quite as finessed as the aromatics would like. Give this four or five years in bottle.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
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.