2012 Domaine de la Vougeraie, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru

The 2012 Clos de Vougeot is deep, dense, powerful and earthy. Here, it is the wine's pure depth and resonance that stand out. I imagine the 2012 will start to drink beautifully in a handful of years, once the tannins start to soften a bit.

The 2012 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru comes from the estate’s two parcels and includes 50% whole cluster fruit. It has a lifted bouquet with touches of dried rose petals infusing the red berry fruit with fine delineation. The palate is very composed with a lithe, fleshy opening married with crisp acidity and a solid, quite dense finish that suggests this should age well. Very fine. Domaine de la Vougeraie was founded in 1998 when the domaines of Claudine Deschamps, Pierre Ponnelle, Louis Voilland and L’Heritier-Guyot were merged. I remember it well because at the time I was exporting L’Heritier-Guyot’s wines to Japan (to be frank, they were quite ordinary back then.) The man behind the venture was Jean-Claude Boisset, whose own considerable holdings meant that Domaine de la Vougeraie became a significant player in the Cote d’Or, with 37 hectares of prime vineyard including seven grand crus to their name. I have to be honest and say that like many others, I liked the first few vintages of their wine, but found them a little predictable and seemed to struggle for charm and personality. Perhaps that was a reflection of former winemaker Pascal Marchand applying the practices he had learned at Comte Armand: a lot of new oak with 100% de-stemmed fruit – not really my bag. When he departed for pastures new, incoming winemaker Pierre Vincent seemed to apply a gentler touch. The new oak is still part of the wines’ character, but there is certainly a more considered approach, plus he is more open to using whole cluster fruit. Managing such an array of wines with a relatively small team cannot be easy in challenging vintages such as 2012, or for that matter 2013. Pierre told me that his average yields were 22 hectoliters per hectare, though for the grand crus, they were down to 17 hectoliters per hectare. Importer: Boisset Family Estates, St. Helena, CA; tel. (800) 878-1123

(two-thirds of these vines are planted near the entrance to the castle and the other two-thirds at the bottom of the slope, according to Vincent; 50% vendange entier): Good dark red. Ripe but subdued aromas of black cherry, game and chocolate; slightly high-toned (the pH here is a relatively high 3.7). Large-scaled, broad and ripe but with a nicely restrained sweetness to the flavors of cherry liqueur, rose petal and lavender. Finishes more savory and less fruity than the Clos du Roi, with good medicinal reserve and substantial dusty tannins. Very good potential here but tricky to taste today.

Mid cherry red. Dark-red fruit, a little peppery and mildly stemmy, attractively so. Not as kind on the palate, a little bit hard overall. Maybe it will come round but it feels a little forced. Not great value. (JH)