Winemaker Notes
Louis Latour's 2019 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru has a magnificent ruby color and emanates raspberry, licorice and nutmeg aromas. It is ample on the palate with powerful tannins and notes of black cherry and chocolate. Beautiful aromatic persistence on the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A sleek and silky red, featuring cherry, black currant, floral and mineral flavors. Turns even more austere midpalate through the finish, with terrific intensity and a long, well-delineated aftertaste, which echoes the fruit and mineral notes and picks up sweet spice accents. Shows superb length and finesse. Best from 2026.
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James Suckling
A bold, generous wine that has everything you expect from a Burgundy Grand Cru. The delicate savory notes underline the ripe black-fruit character and the generous tannin structure. Long, sophisticated finish. Drink or hold.
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.