The monks of Cîteaux used this walled vineyard as their source of white wine for 700 years before the Revolution; it has remained planted to white grapes and remained intact, now in the hands of the Boisset family. The parcel is across the road from Clos Vougeot, northeast of the entrance to the château; the 7.53 acres of chardonnay, along with a little pinot gris and blanc, grow in white, calcareous soils, producing an ornate wine, saturated with honey and mineral power. It’s creamy and taut, needing time to show its layers of flavor, a sophisticate white take on Vougeot.
Vougeot 1er Cru “Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot” Monopole Reviews
This intense, powerful white is marked by citronella, hazelnut, peach and Matchstick aromas and flavors. Settles down on the palate, building to a long finish of lemon, stone and saline notes and revealing pedigree on the length. Best from 2023 through 2030. 1,240 cases made, 100 cases imported.
Three tries were made through the vineyard to make the 2020 Vougeot 1er Cru Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot this year due to differing ripening levels. Orchard fruit, touches of petrichor on the nose, this is quite Puligny-like in style. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, though it just needs a touch of tension and mineralité on the finish. But this is fine overall.
This intense, powerful white is marked by citronella, hazelnut, peach and Matchstick aromas and flavors. Settles down on the palate, building to a long finish of lemon, stone and saline notes and revealing pedigree on the length. Best from 2023 through 2030. —B.S.
The Boisset family owns some of the rare chardonnay vines in Vougeot, farming them under biodynamics and consistently producing distinctly delicious white Burgundy from the Côte de Nuits. Of the 74 plots covering 104 acres, this monopole, across a small road to the north of Clos de Vougeot, is its most prized. Jasper Morris, MW, in an article for this magazine (October 2012), compared the soil at this site to that of Vougeraie’s holding directly across the road, where pinot noir is planted in the Clos de Vougeot: “The Clos Blanc is much lighter in color, with more chips of limestone evident. The underlying rock is different too, being an unusual salmon pink conglomerate of the Oligocene period, not seen in Clos de Vougeot or other adjoining vineyards.” The monks who are said to have planted this site to white grapes in 1110 would have probably donned sunglasses to taste this 2015. It’s powerfully compressed, blinding in its white-lime acidity, a cool, crisp evocation of the soil. Flinty in its youthful reduction, there’s something ineffably refreshing about this wine.
Lime and lime blossom aromas lead off, with apple, lemon and spice notes underneath. Though on the slim, linear side, this is balanced and ends with a chalky feel. Drink now through 2019. —B.S.
This historic 5.63 acres of white grapes provided monks with their white wine at the Clos de Vougeot. The Boisset family has farmed the site under biodynamics since 2001, mainly chardonnay (95 percent), with a little pinot gris and blanc in the mix. That farming as well as the quality of the terroir both play a role in the performance of this wine at such a high level through two significantly different vintages, in 2013 and 2012 (below). The 2013 emphasizes kinetic energy, a fragrant chardonnay that washes over the palate like a river of stones. The depth and density of flavor is more about pale earthiness than fruit, the texture broad and lush, the firm finish hinting at spice. Sophisticated and elegant, this will gain from five years or more in the cellar.
More restricted and tense than the 2013, and more aristocratic as well, this starts out with floral notes of white roses, orange pith and lime pith, presented with red-wine intensity. Earthy and sleek, this opens with air to briny minerality, while remaining tightly clenched. A touch of sweetness fleshes out the structural grip, hinting at the roseate flavors that should develop with bottle age. This has the energy to last.
The 2014 Vougeot 1er Cru le Clos Blanc has a clean and detailed, granite and smoke-scented bouquet that is austere at first, but finds its voice with aeration. The palate is rounded and harmonious on the entry with touches of tinned peach and nectarine, a keen line of acidity and nicely integrated oak just filling out the finish. Give it a year or two once in bottle - it will be a very fine Vougeot.