A heterogeneous 52 ha terroir with 16 “climats” and over 80 producers
We took an in-depth look at the Clos Vougeot appellation (the largest Grand Cru in Burgundy) and its 2022 vintage during the Grands Jours de Bourgogne when they were presented at the Cha teau du Clos de Vougeot on March 22nd, 2024. Most wines are just being bottled, the vignerons mentioned. As one can see from the Cote de Nuits map on next page, the large, square Clos de Vougeot block is a Grand Cru outlier because it goes all the way down to road D794. So strictly speaking within Clos Vougeot you have Grand Cru, 1er Cru and even Village type of land. Consequently, there are 16 different “climats”, that are called Quartiers here within the Clos, such as Grand Maupertui, Baudes Hautes, Quatorze Journaux, etc. with different levels of prestige. To complicate it even further, there are ca 80 producers on this plot, see map below.
Going into all of them would overcomplicate things but I thought it would be helpful to divide the AOC into 6 broad areas, looking up from the D794. UR and UL (upper right and upper left) are the most prestigious plots at Grand Cru mid slope height next to Grands Echezeaux and just below Musigny, with UR being highest regarded. I classified them therefore as tier 1a/1b. In the middle and lower parts, there are no strong opinions whether the left or the right side is better, so I classi-fied them as tier 2 and tier 3 respectively. For the wines I have tasted I will mention in which of the 6 sub-areas the grapes were sourced from, so you can make up your own mind to which degree “terroir takes precedence over producer” or vice versa. I have also added the current price point for each wine for the recent vintages. A final word on the general style of the Clos Vougeot terroir. If you had to summarize, it makes wines that are typically well-structured with red or dark fruit de-pending on the wine maker, with sous-bois and often an earthy, masculine and sometimes animalic overall impression.
The 2022 and 2021 vintages in Clos Vougeot
2022 is considered as an outstanding vintage in red Burgundy combining attractive body, tannins, freshness and aromas. I compare it to 2015. However, they will need time. None of the 2022 wines tasted were in a state where you would want to consume them. I anticipate readiness of the Clos Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022 not before 10 years in bottle. A nice surprise was the 2021 vintage that was occasionally shown by the producers as well. A cooler, elegant year but by no means harsh or thin, may be like a combination of 2014 and 2017 in the Cote de Nuits. Lots to like here, the wines were much more expressive than the seriously reductive if not even closed 2022, already with hints of beautiful tertiary notes. These are the wines you should drink while waiting for the 2022 to come around.
The Wines tasted
Domaine Anne Gros, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: UL, price point: CHF 225. Dark ruby. Dense blue fruit, oak spices, compact mouth feel. Modern, polished, well-crafted tannins. This wine often gets high scores, but in all of my encounters I found it aromatically a little foursquare. Not much going on beyond blue fruit. (92 pts.)
Domaine Jean Féry, Vougeot 1er Cru Les Cras 2022
Location: a 1er Cru plot just outside the wall on the right of the MR sector, price point: CHF 150. Medium-light garnet. The nose is very much in the red fruit spectrum with earthy elements. Lovely, but expensive for a 1er Cru. (92 pts.)
Domaine Faiveley, Clos Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: LL and LR, price point: 225 CHF. Quite a bit of oak to work through in the nose, but soft and subtle. The texture here is very nice and far from the 2021 I recently had; it is also automatically an interesting wine with lots of sous-bois once it reaches the drinking window. (94 pts.)
Domaine Dubois, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: ML and LL, price point: 150 CHF. Tannins here are a little bit rough, a question mark today if they’ve got this right. Aromas are very much in the earthy, brown color spectrum, old school. (89 pts.)
Domaine Dufouleur Frères, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: UL, price point: 125 CHF. From an owned plot in Grand Maupertui. Nose with lots of dark fruit, very primary, fine oak, owner mentioned that he likes to drink his wines young. Hmm, I would definitely wait until there are more aromas here. (90-91 pts.)
Domaine Bertagna, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: MR, price point: 125 CHF. Another Domaine that makes wines with dark fruit and silky tannins but they need to work on the aromatics. Very foursquare. (90 pts.)
Maison Albert Bichot (Domaine du Clos Frantin), Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: LL and UL, price point: 200 CHF. Lighter and more airy style, attractive, not as austere as some of the others. Positive surprise of an otherwise inconsistent producer. (93 pts.)
Berthaut Gerbet, Gros Frere & Soeur and Veronique Drouhin presenting their wines
Domaine Drouhin, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: MR and LL with the later not going into the blend, price point: 250 CHF. 20% whole cluster. This wine has extremely nice texture, soft, almost succulent for a Clos Vougeot. The aromas are still primary though, so I would not open this despite its textural appeal. (94 pts.)
Domaine d’Eugénie, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: sizeable UR plot, so the location is top, price point: 350 CHF. For those who don’t know the story here: After the untimely demise of René Engel who made one of the best Clos Vougeots (the few remaining bottles of his era trade well into the four digits), Francois Pinault, owner of Chateau Latour, bought this estate and renamed it Domaine d’Eugenie. What followed was a disaster, the wines were unrecognizable. Instead of fragrant red fruit, elegant wines, you had dark fruit, extracted, oaked “Bordeaux made in Burgundy”. The Pinot community was shocked. They have recently dialed back on their approach and recent wines are better. I must admit that I have never had an Eugenie wine that was close to what Rene Engel did but at least the direction of travel is now better. I had a good 2013 Clos Vougeot at the Paris Ficofi (Link) event, so that gives me hope. The 2022 on display today has 80% whole cluster and two thirds new oak. When I taste the wine, I can only find compressed dark fruit today, no stemmy notes. The tannins are of good quality. Similar to the Anne Gros wine in style. Will this become fragrant and elegant once mature? Given the price I would I have some trepidation. (92 pts.)
Domaine d’Ardhuy, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: UL, price point: 125 CHF. Very primary, hard to assess, not much going on beyond dark and red fruit, almost a little simple. Should be better given the terrific plot in Petit Maupertui. (90 pts.)
René Bouvier, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2021
Location: No info, price point: 200 CHF. Small production, this producer decided to show his 2021. The wine was a touch thin for a Grand Cru but there are a lot of attractive aromas here around sous bois, red fruit and spice box. (92 pts.)
Maison Edouard Delaunay, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2021
Location: UL and MR, price point: 225 CHF. This producer also decided to show his 2021. Attractive nose with herbs, peony and sweet spices, chalky finish. A nice wine to drink early. (92 pts.)
Maison Seguin Manuel, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2020
Location: ML, price point: 225 CHF. This 2020 vintage was shown the evening before during the very well-organized Grandes Maisons Grands Crus event. Very closed and primary still, dark and red fruit, decent aromatics but finishes on the dry side which is a point of worry. Tiny production, one barrel, 300 bottles. (92 pts.)
Journalists and Members of the trade eagerly waiting to taste the 2022 Clos de Vougeot
Domaine Gros Frère & Soeur, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: UR large plot above the Chateau, the only pro- ducer in the “Musigni” quartier (strangely written with an i) [The Musigny owners feared that the wine from the area would be more commercially successful than the one from “Les Petits-Musigny” area just above it and therefore compelled the writing to be changed, ed. note]. Price point: 225 CHF. A well- known producer that is noticeably shunned by the big re- viewers. I think that is because they are a bit on and off. I remember older wines that were very extracted and over- ripe. Now, in the recent vintages I tasted, there were more positive than negative surprises. The Echezeaux 2014 is a regular podium finisher in blind tastings I have attended to. Prices have also gone up quite a bit, so I think the mar- ket has also decided that their recent wines deserve a closer look. The portfolio showed today, not just the Clos de Vougeot, showed consistently well. The style is light and elegant with a good dose of high-quality sweet oak. May be not a wine for the purist, but there was a big crowd in front of their stand and the trade seems to give it the thumbs up. I also found their Clos Vougeot to be one of the best ones today, with silky tannins, beautiful farmyard funk, elegant mouthfeel, and sweet spices on the finish. If you have never tried this producer, have a go and form your own opinion. (95 pts.)
Jean-Pierre Guyon, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: MR, price point: 400 CHF. Nose of red current and cassis, herbs de Provence. Ripe but not overripe, silky structure but not overly aro- matic. Now, the current price of this Domaine makes you scratch your head especially since only a few years back this used to be a laggard both in quality and price. Now all of a sudden the price is way up and the quality better, not nearly that much better like in the Arnoux-Lachaux or Comte Liger-Belair transformation, so at this price point this is not something to purchase. (92 pts.)
Domaine A. Chopin et Fils (A&A Chopin), Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2021
Location: LR, price point: 125 CHF. An off the radar pro- ducer that recovered its plot from Negoce contracts and surprised today with a very fragrant 2021 wine. Great nose of forest floor, dark and red fruit. Polished. (94 pts.)
Domaine A. Chopin et Fils (A&A Chopin), Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: LR, price point: 125 CHF. See above, the 2022 was cut from a similar cloth with more fruit density but the same elegant mouthfeel. I will likely surpass the 2021 when mature. (94 pts.)
Château de Marsannay, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: UL, price point: 200 CHF. Nose dominated by red fruit and sweet spices. Soft and polished, but a little simple. Not really a good QPR here. (89 pts.)
Château Philippe le Hardi, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2020
Location: ML and LL, price point: 200 CHF. The estate was purchased by Credit Agricole in 1997. This 2020 vintage was shown the evening before during the very well-organized Grandes Maisons Grands Crus event. One of the discoveries of the evening. The wine showed very expressive aromas of cured meat, sweet spices, sous-bois and whole cluster notes. (95 pts.)
Château Philippe le Hardi, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: ML and LL, price point: 200 CHF. A worthy follow up from the 2020 tasted the night before. Dense wine with tightly woven structure and already lots of aromas with herbs, cassis, wet forest floor lurking below. (94 pts.)
Château de La Tour, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022 (red label)
Location: Biggest owner of the AOC, they own two large plots in MR around their Cha^teau, a plot in UR and a small stripe in LR, price point: 150 CHF. The largest owner in Clos Vougeot which gives it the advantage to play with more choice in the final assemblage. They used to make quite tannic wines bordering rustic. Re- cent vintages I had were much better though, so I put the producer back onto my radar and purchase list. The sunny 2022 played into their hand. Complex nose of dark berries with spices, cherry, earthy elements, licorice. Ca. 50% whole cluster. Very complete start to finish. Reasonably priced and easy to source due to its, in terms of Burgundy, large production. (95 pts.)
Château de La Tour, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022 Vieilles Vignes (gold label)
Location: See above, mainly old vines of the MR plot go into this, price point: 225 CHF. 80% whole cluster in this cuvee. Deep and rich with intriguing aromatics around licorice, underbrush, meat and dark fruit. One of the best wines today. (96 pts.)
Domaine Thibault Liger-Bélair, Clos de Vougeot 2022
Location: ML, price point 225: CHF. 50% whole cluster, soft and charming, among the top wines today. Made in a modern way but not at the expense of aroma. One that will please novices and connoisseurs alike. (95 pts.)
François Labet and son Edouard of Chateau de Clos de Vougeot, Thibault Liger-Belair discussing with merchants.
Maison Boissenet Famille, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2020
Location: MR, price point: 225 CHF. This 2020 vintage was shown the evening before during the very well organized Grandes Maisons Grands Crus event. The nose is very smoky, marked by the barrel? Earthy notes, licorice. On the rustic side. Small production 900 btls. (92 pts.)
Domaine Tortochot, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: LL, price point: 175 CHF. 25% whole cluster. Dense and structured, one that will need cellar time. Earthy aromas lurking below. The wines are vinified by Sylvain Pataille. (93 pts.)
Domaine Tortochot, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2021
Location: LL, price point: 150 CHF. The lighter vintage created a very good wine here. Al- ready expressive and attractive to drink with some aeration, very good freshness. They got this vintage right. The most approachable wine, but I would still give this a 3-4 more years in bottle. The wines are vinified by Sylvain Pataille. (94 pts.)
Domaine Tortochot, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2016
Location: LL, price point: 125 CHF. Very ripe wine with some prune notes. A second bottle was a little more balanced, but still, I liked
this the least of the three due to its very ripe character. (89 pts.)
Domaine Michel Noëllat, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: UR, price point: 200 CHF. Lighter than most wines and a little compressed in structure but there is solid red fruit. Balanced, elegant, would need some more depth. (92 pts.)
Pascale Rion-Delhautal, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2021
Location: UL, price point: No info. First time I see this producer and rare today. Daniel Rion created a family run estate in 1955 in the heart of Vosne-Romanee. Since 2000, the estate is run by siblings Olivier, Christophe and Pascale Rion. Pascale Rion married into the Delhautel family and the estate is since called Domaine Pascale Rion-Delhautel. The wines were lovely, lighter renditions of this Vineyard. I referred the 2021 here for its fragrant aromatics with red fruit with farmyard notes underneath. (93 pts.)
Pascale Rion Delhautal, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: UL, price point: No info, see above. The 2022 was also lighter than most wines, soft and almost too easy going for a Grand Cru. May be bottle age will add some aromatics similar to the 2021. 90 points for now.
Domaine Bernard Rion, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) Vieilles Vignes 2022
Location: ML, price point: 150 CHF. Very primary still, dark fruit, closed, finishes with ripe tannins. Hard to assess at this closed stage. (91 pts.)
Domaine Henri Rebourseau, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: large plot in ML, price point: 200 CHF. Very good wine here, among the top showings. Complex aromas around dark cherry and some farmyard funk. (95 pts.)
Domaine Gérard Raphet, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: LR and LL, price point: 150 CHF. A producer that gets shunned my most reviewers, hard to find ratings on it apart from some Vinifera-Mundi reports. The base cuve´e was a bit hard work today, quite tannic and unyielding, quite some distance to the VV. (89 pts.)
Domaine Jean Grivot, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: large plot in LR, price point: 275 CHF. A lighter style here with elegant raspberry notes and baking spices. A beautiful showing, albeit and expensive choice given the price is lifted here by the reputational strength of this producer. (94 pts.)
Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: UR next to Me´o-Camuzet, price point: 800-1000 CHF. In terms of price and prestige in Clos Vougeot, this producer is only topped by Madame Leroy and the late René Engel. Mugneret-Gibourg has become a cult wine with a loyal following among connoisseurs. I remember liking the wines immediately after exploring this producer with Divo (Link) in 2007, back then at moderate prices – tempi passati! Luckily not only the prestige but also the quality here is top drawer. The 2022 was the most complete wine of the line-up combining wonderful aromatics with red fruits and violets, sous-bois, gentle oak. It eclipsed the also very good Echezeaux showed next to it. For those with deep pockets, this is your wine, if you can find it… (97 pts.)
Mathilde Grivot and the famous all-female Mungneret-Gibourg team. Great wines firmly made in women’s hands
Domaine Gérard Raphet, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) Vieilles Vignes 2022
Location: LR and LL, price point: 175 CHF. A producer that gets shunned by most reviewers, hard to find ratings on it. A big step up from the base cuvee, the VV showed wonderfully. Much softer palate, wonderful aroma. A discovery. (94+ pts.)
Domaine Jacques Prieur, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: LR, price point: 175 CHF. Beautiful dark fruit on the first swirl. A big surprise as the cliché wants this domaine not to really be a major name for haute couture in the Cote de Nuits. The Musigny and the Echezeaux produced by Jacques Prieur regularly demonstrate the contrary. I also like the density and tannin management, well crafted. (94 pts.)
Domaine Méo-Camuzet, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: Meo has the largest plot in UL, right below the Chateau, price point: 250 CHF. Usually known for tannic style, especially in its Corton, that need a long time, today we had a surprisingly succulent and fruity wine with soft tannins. The wines usually add a lot in complexity with age, so I think we have a winner here as well. (95 pts.)
Domaine Jean-Marc Millot, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: UL, price point: 200 CHF. New Label design. I liked the old one better. I don’t know what it is with Burgundy vignerons, they are so trigger happy to update their label, especially when a new generation takes helm. Look at Armand Rousseau’s Chambertin, Lafite Rothschild, DRC, Chave Hermitage. Label is brand and brand is label. Don’t touch it! Their Clos Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022 was one of the lighter wines today with lovely raspberry and underbrush aromas. (93 pts.)
Domaine Laurent Père & Fils, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) „Sui Generis“La Plante Abbé 2022
Location: UR, price point: 150 CHF. First time I see this bottle and interestingly the wine that may take the crown for
the best aromas today. Dark fruit, herbs, farmyard, smoke, lots going on. Medium bodied palate. (95-96 pts.)
Domaine de la Vougeraie, Vougeot 1er Cru Clos du Prieuré 2021, Monopole
In the afternoon at the Quator en Harmonie Pavilion Domaine de La Vougeraie showed two Vougeot white wines that I wanted to mention here, as they are a typical Burgundy odd ball and thus something to confuse everyone in your next blind tasting. Expressive nose with lemon curd and matchstick, good ripeness married with freshness. Like a Chassagne in style, good QPR. Price point: 70 CHF. (92 pts.)
Domaine de la Vougeraie, Vougeot 1er Cru Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot 2021, Monopole
See above. Lovely gun flint nose here, fresh and zesty, a touch more volume than the already good village. Very good white at a relatively attractive price and a valid alternative for Meursault or Chassagne. Price point: 100 CHF. (94 pts.)
The majestic Chateau de Clos de Vougeot
Nicole Lamarche, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: LL, UL and UR, price point: 150 CHF. The daughter of Francois Lamarche is now running the show here. The domaine has a mixed record. For the fact that they own some of the best vineyards in Vosne, including La Grande Rue that lies in-between DRC’s Romanee-Conti and La Tache they should make wines and command prices like Comte Liger Belair does after re-taking the helm there. Fact is they don’t and when you taste their wines you know why. Not bad stuff, but too little to write home about. The Clos Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022 was pleasant, light bodied, some raspberry, all a bit unassuming for a Grand Cru in a top vintage though. (91 pts.)
Maison Louis Latour, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: No info, price point: 250 CHF. Another Maison that is associated with more mass market wines. Their wine showed nicely today with attractive blue fruit. The tannins were a touch dry on the finish and need some time. Not bad overall but given the price point vs. the prestige of this Ne´goce, not one I would buy. (92 pts.)
Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: LL, price point: 225 CHF. 50% whole cluster. A very aromatic wine with cranberries, sweet oak, spices and mint. A lot to like here, one of the best in the lower part of the appellation. (94+ pts.)
Domaine Michel Gros, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: UL, price point: 200 CHF. Old school but not rustic, lots of black- berry, violets here intermixed with farmyard funk and forest floor. Among the most characterful wines today. (95 pts.)
Jean-Claude Boisset, Clos Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2020
Location: MR, price point: 225 CHF. During another event earlier in the week, Boisset showed its 2020. From a mid-slope parcel below the Cha- teau de La Tour Very smoky nose, a bit too much, licorice and barnyard. Decent, but a bit rustic. (91 pts.)
Maison Louis Jadot, Clos de Vougeot (Grand Cru) 2022
Location: ML and LL, price point: 150 CHF. Holy cow, true to form, this is immensely structured I don’t know when this will be ready to drink. For me it looks like they have overdone it on the tannins as unfortunately all too often in this Maison. If you have this, do not open before 2035. (89-90 pts.)
Conclusion
There were a lot of solid wines in this tasting, no real duds to be found, but unlike in the Grand Crus of Vosne and Chambolle, only the very best producers coax a truly great wine here. The price reflects this as well, so there is still relative value to be found in Clos de Vougeot, even though prices have gone up here as well in recent times. I would like to mention four prominent absentees in this tasting, all of them producing Clos Vougeot that I personally hold in high esteem and scored high in the past. First Denis Mortet (UL 400 CHF) and Hudelot-Noëllat (UR, 275 CHF). These two are really top-end offerings with Mortet being the more masculine wine and Hudelot among the most fragrant and ethereal, both regularly 95/100 candidates. Then there is Vougeraie (UR, CHF 200) and Mongeard-Mugneret (UR, CHF 250). Of course, as already mentioned, there is Leroy (UR,ML,LL CHF 5’000) and René Engel (UR, CHF 2’500) as well if you can shell out four digit sums.
Below you can see the same map from the beginning of the report and I added all wines that scored 95/100 or above with their location in the Clos. For the sake of completion I have also added the five producers just mentioned that were not part of the tasting so I used scores from past encounters (white color).
The visit to the Grands Jours de Bourgogne 2024 was organized by Vinifera Mundi (www.vinifera-mundi.ch) and the original report was published there.
Author: Christian Raubach, WSET III, FWS, WSG Champagne Master
April, 2024