Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru Reviews

The 2015 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru offers up a sapid bouquet of grilled game bird, espresso roast, wild plums and dark berries. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and velvety, with real mid-palate substance, supple, melting tannins and impressive reserves of concentration and depth despite its elegant, understated profile. The finish is long, precise and succulent. From bottle, the Clos de Vougeot is one of the most promising wines from Domaine de la Vougeraie.

Complex aromas and flavors of red berry, sandalwood, vanilla, floral and mineral are alluring, made all the more appealing by the elegant frame and vivid structure. Silky and harmonious enough to drink now, but this should really sing in five to seven years. Offers a fine, smoky finish.

Most of this wine comes from a parcel near the top of the vineyard, at the corner just below the alley that leads to the entrance of the Château du Clos de Vougeot; a smaller portion comes from the base of the vineyard, both parcels farmed under biodynamics since 2001. This is more powerful than many wines from this large grand cru, potently reduced so that it’s more feral animal and tar than fruit for now. Underneath that dark funk there’s a youthful floral note that lasts, waiting to emerge more fully as the wine resolves with age.

Complex aromas and flavors of red berry, sandalwood, vanilla, floral and mineral are alluring, made all the more appealing by the elegant frame and vivid structure. Silky and harmonious enough to drink now, but this should really sing in five to seven years. Offers a fine, smoky finish. Best from 2023 through 2040. 

Deep medium red. Subdued but pretty aromas of dark cherry, wild herbs and licorice. Broad and silky on entry, then much more dense and backward in the middle palate; the largest-scaled of the Domaine de la Vougeraie 2015s to this point but very slow to evolve. The slightly medicinal finish displays substantial dusty tannins and a strong licorice quality. Still quite reserved but very pure, spicy and long. In fact, this wine seemed to gain in power after I spit it. Vincent ranks this wine with 2014 and 2010 as his favorite vintages here for Clos Vougeot, but it will require considerable patience. -- Stephen Tanzer