The Enigma of Clos de Vougeot

11 Sep 2013: Clos de Vougeot: this iconic enclosed vineyard, initially created by the Cistercian monks in the early part of the 12th Century, is a Grand Cru appellation that accounts for almost 75% of the Vougeot appellation area. Given its large size of almost 50 hectares, and the number of producers (about 80 in all), it has often been criticised for its lack of consistency across the myriad of producers and terroirs within the 'clos'. At the top where there is a thin (40cm) topsoil of chalk and gravel on limestone , the vineyards that abut Musigny and Grands Echézeaux, enjoy better drainage at 255 metres above sea level. The middle part (250 metres) offers moderate drainage, with a shallow topsoil of softer limestone and brown clay, with some gravel, overlying broken limestone. The vineyards at the bottom (240 metres) that extend towards the D974 and having regional and village level vineyards as neighbours, have a deeper topsoil of brown colour (90cm) on top of a layer of marl, rich in clay and alluvium. Blending across the clos is a possibility for producers owning different plots.

The Clos de Vougeot Line-Up

A few days ago, a group of us got together over dinner to try some Clos de Vougeot bottles, across different vintages and producers, to see whether we could differentiate between the terroir expression and the winemaker's style. I looked up some official sources for a description of Clos de Vougeot, and here's an amalgamation of what I found: "a suave bouquet.....roses, violets, mignonette,......blackberry, raspberry, wild mint, liquorice and truffle.....underbrush.....fur.......on the palate....succulent and mellow....full-bodied and fleshy......combining elegance and delicacy with meaty fullness.....discreet acidity.....muscular and quite long on the finish......long ageing potential".

Before we started with the reds, we enjoyed some Vougeot 1er Cru Clos Blanc de Vougeot by Domaine de La Vougeraie. We had a magnum of 2006 Clos Blanc, which seemed to be drinking a point now, rich and concentrated, perhaps a little lacking in acidity. The 2009 showed much more tension and structure and paired rather well with the smoked trout pâté!


We decided to start from old to young this time, allowing the younger wine further aeration and a chance to pair with some French cheese (sadly no Cîteaux, the cheese still made by the monks of the Abbey of Cîteaux, which would have been the ideal marriage)!


1959 Clos Vougeot, Joseph Drouhin: Level was upper to mid shoulder. Brick colour, with a warm and sweet bouquet that suggests richness and a fine maturity, reminiscent of prune, coffee, sous-bois, truffle, earth, animal and savoury notes, with a complementary nuance of caramel. Almost sweet on entry. Mouth-coating silkiness, delivering a refined degree of richness and depth of flavours, which just went on and on. Just a hint of dryness on the finish. Simply sublime, elegant and mature! A very well-stored bottle, showing perfect pedigree and character of the vintage. 19/20

1969 Clos de Vougeot, Jospeh Drouhin: Garnet colour. Underneath the strong note of volatility and evidence of maderisation, there was a bouquet of undergrowth, wet leaves and earthy notes. Sound underlying material for the wine, but sadly succumbed to oxidation and volatility.

1961 Clos de Vougeot, Leroy: This needed some time to coax the plethora of Burgundian aromas, including dark fruit, Asian spice, mushroom, violet and some sauvage character. The complex flavours glide across the palate, affirming intensity, concentration and a fine robust structure. Good level of acidity keeping the palate fresh. I feel that we did not quite give it enough time to breathe and blossom......18.5/20


1988 Clos Vougeot, René Engel: Initially, a little subdued....except for nuances of animal, earth and farmyard. With aeration, this revealed a core of red fruit and mineral note underneath the firm structure. Lithe and elegantly poised. Rather attractive, except for the dryness on the finish. I would drink this wine now! 17/20


1988 Clos de Vougeot, Méo-Camuzet: A suave and stylish interpretation of Clos de Vougeot. Mature bouquet of dark cherry, plum, Asian spice, violet with some earthy notes. Not a wine that impresses by its volume or concentration, but rather its velvety texture, fine backbone of vibrant acidity and velvety tannin. Very fine indeed. 17.5/20


2001 Clos de Vougeot, Georges Mugneret: Here's a very fine Clos de Vougeot. Notes of dark fruit, coffee, sweet tobacco and sauvage character. Intense, with profound concentration, and a muscular core. The linear structure deftly balanced by richness. Finishes extremely long. Excellent winemaking here. 17/20


2003 Clos de Vougeot, Méo-Camuzet: From a warm vintage, this showed a warm and rich bouquet, a mouthcoating velvety texture but also a fantastic freshness, keeping everything in balance! Dark fruit, cloves, liquorice and coffee. Ripe but firm tannins and vibrant acidity giving an opulent but not clumsy structure. Perhaps there was none of the minerality or restraint that we love to see in Burgundies but this was a very fine effort for the vintage. 17.5/20

We finished with a 1971 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Beerenauslese, S.A. Prüm. A golden amber colour. Notes of dried apricot, mango and marmalade leapt to the nose. Medium-bodied and firm acidity. Finishes long......Quite fine, good complexity and balance, but not an intensely rich or profound example. 17/20

Did we reach a conclusion? I think we certainly did reach one: in the right hands, Clos de Vougeot was certainly capable of living up to its long-ageing reputation......the 1959 and 1961 were very fine examples of how well they aged!