Clos de Vougeot

Clos de Vougeot is a wonderful icon of Burgundy, expressing in equal measures its profound history, its contradictions, and its brilliance. Let’s take those in order.

Founded in 1100 by Cistercian monks, this is a very old vineyard indeed, and hallowed ground for anyone who cares about wine. To walk around this place is to be humbled by the thought of a millennium of people tending vines here. Rates a Grand Cru, the Clos de Vougeot also presents some headaches. At around 50 hectares in size, it’s the largest Grand Cru vineyard in the Côte de Nuits, with some eighty different owners. On a hillside that reaches high up the slope and descends down to the foot of the highway, the conditions change dramatically throughout the vineyard. That it all gets to be called Grand Cru, no matter whether the vines sit in a privileged exposure on the hill or sit in mud down near the road is maddening to some, but recognizes the physical, cultural, and economic realities of Burgundy. Yet when it’s good, a great wine from Vougeot can compete with any wine of the region.

While both village-level and Premier Cru vineyards exist in the commune of Vougeot, the site is dominated by the Grand Cru clos, which occupies more than 80 percent of the total land. Covered with small pebbles, the topsoils have very little clay and a lot of limestone. Working down the slope, one will encounter more clay and a shift in the type of limestone. Toward the bottom of the hill, the soil becomes alluvial and much heavier, not draining nearly as well. Some contend that classical wine made from throughout the vineyard would include wine from the better-draining soils at the top of the slope as well as wines from the heavier, lower regions.

tasting notes

It is hard to say which are the qualities of a quintessential Clos de Vougeot because there are so many producers and it’s such a large vineyard. However, in a blind tasting, a Clos de Vougeot might come from a wine with soft dark fruits and an earthy cast. Structure-wise, it can have a fairly large body and significant tannins, but they’re not as fine as in nearby Vosne and not as sharp as in Gevrey. It’s the sort of wine that you identify when you can’t pin it decisively to any other village.

grand cru

Clos de Vougeot

top producers

domaine leroy

So vast is the hand of cards owned by Domaine Leroy, it would be possible to list it as a top producer of almost every village in the Côte d’Or. But the Clos de Vougeot really is special. An amazingly complete wine, it always shows finesse and elegance, while still having a satisfyingly dense, full core.

Domaine anne-gros

Another Vosne-Romanée domaine, another great wine. It’s called Le Grand Maupertui after the informal name given to this section, just beneath Grands Echezeaux. The clay here is dense, and the wine has a big, burly tannins undergirding a parade of gorgeous, plush dark berry and floral notes.

domaine mugneret-gibourg

This domaine is run by a pair of delightful sisters, Marie-Christine and Marie-Andrée. In their impressive portfolio, this wine is always a delight, capturing the breadth and fullness of Clos de Vougeot, while somehow remaining smooth and approachable with lots of bright, aromatic fruit.

detailed map