2008 Chateau de la Tour, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Vieilles Vignes

Deep red. Sexy, high-pitched aromas of black cherry, minerals, violet and blood orange. Tight, juicy and youthfully imploded, showing the sappy, structured side of this vintage in spades. Piquant acidity and the menthol medicinal notes of classic young Clos Vougeot suggest that this will enjoy a slow and graceful evolution in the bottle. Finishes with a pungent peppery suggestion that may be from the whole-cluster fermentation. Francois Labet considers 2009 to be a great long-lived, balanced vintage, but this is just the kind of 2008 the market will be discovering in 2020.

The 2008 Clos de Vougeot Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru has a lucid hue. This is very impressive on the nose with ripe red plum and briary scents, a touch of sous-bois, wonderful vivacity considering the challenges of the growing season. The palate is medium-bodied with better substance than many of its peers. There is a focus and symmetry here that really sets it apart from others and despite being intermixed with some very stiff competition of Clos de Vougeot's from the late Philippe Engel, this completely holds its own. Bon vin.