Domaine de la Vougeraie Reviews

When we dig a well for water, we mimic the action of a vine, which may be why a wine like this recalls the depths of a well in its rooty, wild mushroom and earth scents. That scent is atavistic, or, as one taster suggested, animalistic; wild and gamey, in any case. Its fruit has a clover honey edge, riding between cleanness and the hayloft above a stable. A Burgundy to bring out your own inner animal.

The 2009 Bonnes-Mares is wonderfully nuanced and detailed. It is easily the most reticent of the estate’s 2009 grand crus. The wine’s energy and length come through most clearly at this stage. The Bonnes-Mares deserves to be cellared for at least a few years, but its pedigree is ample and significant even today. Readers will need to be patient. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039.

The freshness of this wine is almost explosive, crackling with floral scents, bees­wax and the funky corn notes of huitlacoche. It’s fresh cream underneath, smooth­ing all that tension and suggesting that you decant a bottle for roast grouper.

One panelist compared the harmonic power of this wine to a night at the opera in the first row. The wine’s energy has that sophistication and refinement, buzzing with limestone and mushroom earthiness, more focused on bass notes of umami and high-toned florals than any sweetness of fruit. Cellar this and you should be amply rewarded in ten years’ time.

A distinctly ripe yet attractive fresh nose of red and black cherry fruit and warm earth aromas introduce attractively textured, round, rich, supple and focused middle weight flavors. There is a fine sense of underlying tension to the firmly structured finish but there is plenty of buffering sap and excellent length. This offers fine development potential.

30% whole clusters. A distinct floral note adds elegance to the otherwise humus and freshly turned earth dominated red berry fruit aromas that also evidence a hint of minerality that can also be found on the vibrant and solidly well concentrated medium-bodied flavors. There is an abundant amount of dry extract that largely buffers the very firm and mildly rustic tannins on the admirably long finish where a hint of mocha can be discerned. This offers very solid if not truly special quality and will need up to a decade to reveal all of its potential.

30% whole clusters. Hints of spice, warm earth and dried flowers characterize the very fresh red pinot fruit liqueur aromas that marry into the solidly rich and seductively textured flavors that culminate in a firm and only slightly rustic finish that delivers outstanding length. This robust effort possesses that wonderful quality of ample amounts of underlying tension. Worth a look.

The 2009 Nuits St. Georges Les Corvees Pagets shows the more delicate side of Nuits in its perfumed, silky fruit. Crushed flowers, sweet herbs and mint add layers of nuance while the silky tannins caress the palate on the finish. The Corvees Paget was made with 40% whole bunches. Tasted from tank. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. Biodynamic farming and non-interventionalist winemaking are at the heart of the approach at Domaine de la Vougeraie. The 2009s saw roughly a 25 days of maceration (including a week of cold soak) with one punch down a day. Once in barrel racking was kept to a bare minimum. A number of wines were bottled in late 2010 and early 2011. I tasted these wines with winemaker Pierre Vincent in March 2011.

The 2009 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles is elegant, sleek and refined. It shows wonderful nuance and detail in its aromas and flavors, not to mention considerable class. The vines here are 45 years old. The percentage of whole clusters was 30% here and new oak was 40%. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2029. Biodynamic farming and non-interventionalist winemaking are at the heart of the approach at Domaine de la Vougeraie. The 2009s saw roughly a 25 days of maceration (including a week of cold soak) with one punch down a day. Once in barrel racking was kept to a bare minimum. A number of wines were bottled in late 2010 and early 2011. I tasted these wines with winemaker Pierre Vincent in March 2011.

The 2009 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice is quite a bit fleshier than the villages. This is a decidedly powerful, dense wine with tons of mid-palate energy and depth. The fruit is round, inviting and vibrant. This bottling is a selection of the estate’s best parcels planted on the limestone-rich part of the vineyard. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2019. Biodynamic farming and non-interventionalist winemaking are at the heart of the approach at Domaine de la Vougeraie. The 2009s saw roughly a 25 days of maceration (including a week of cold soak) with one punch down a day. Once in barrel racking was kept to a bare minimum. A number of wines were bottled in late 2010 and early 2011. I tasted these wines with winemaker Pierre Vincent in March 2011.

The 2009 Corton Le Clos du Roi (from 65-year-old vines) is elegant and subtle wine. Generous fruit radiates from the warm, open center. This is a totally classy wine that caresses the palate with silky tannins and impeccable grace. Here Vincent used a lower percentage of whole clusters (20%) than in a number of other wines, and employed 60% new oak barrels. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. Biodynamic farming and non-interventionalist winemaking are at the heart of the approach at Domaine de la Vougeraie. The 2009s saw roughly a 25 days of maceration (including a week of cold soak) with one punch down a day. Once in barrel racking was kept to a bare minimum. A number of wines were bottled in late 2010 and early 2011. I tasted these wines with winemaker Pierre Vincent in March 2011.

The 2009 Clos de Vougeot is impeccable from start to finish. Layers of succulent red fruit emerge from this structured yet balanced, harmonious wine. A final burst of red fruit informs the energetic, polished finish. The Clos de Vougeot is made from two parcels, the first at the top of the hill measures 1.2 hectares, the second to the bottom 0.3 hectares, aged separately and blended one month prior to bottling. The wine was fermented with 30% whole clusters and aged in 70% new oak with no rackings during elevage. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. Biodynamic farming and non-interventionalist winemaking are at the heart of the approach at Domaine de la Vougeraie. The 2009s saw roughly a 25 days of maceration (including a week of cold soak) with one punch down a day. Once in barrel racking was kept to a bare minimum. A number of wines were bottled in late 2010 and early 2011. I tasted these wines with winemaker Pierre Vincent in March 2011.

The 2009 Gevrey-Chambertin Bel Air shows off a striking bouquet and layers of intense yet refined fruit. Silky and persistent on the palate, the Bel Air impresses for its remarkable class and superb overall harmony. The Bel Air (from a parcel above Clos de Beze) has 50% whole clusters and saw 50% new oak. It is a terrific effort. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2029. Biodynamic farming and non-interventionalist winemaking are at the heart of the approach at Domaine de la Vougeraie. The 2009s saw roughly a 25 days of maceration (including a week of cold soak) with one punch down a day. Once in barrel racking was kept to a bare minimum. A number of wines were bottled in late 2010 and early 2011. I tasted these wines with winemaker Pierre Vincent in March 2011.

The 2009 Charmes-Chambertin Les Mazoyeres is stunningly beautiful. It presents great richness and power in its energetic fruit. The aromatics weave through the fruit with notable beauty. This is an exceptionally harmonious wine with great intensity and fabulous overall balance. These 80 year old vines are the estate’s oldest and are used to propagate a selection massale of Pinot fin. The estate used 50% whole clusters and 80% new oak. Tasted from barrel. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039. Biodynamic farming and non-interventionalist winemaking are at the heart of the approach at Domaine de la Vougeraie. The 2009s saw roughly a 25 days of maceration (including a week of cold soak) with one punch down a day. Once in barrel racking was kept to a bare minimum. A number of wines were bottled in late 2010 and early 2011. I tasted these wines with winemaker Pierre Vincent in March 2011.

The 2009 Le Musigny is dazzling. Sweet roses, cherries and spices are some of the notes that emerge from this impossibly elegant, haunting wine. The layers of fruit and complexity are beyond eternal, while the tannins feel like cashmere on the finish. I can’t wait to taste this once it is in bottle. Sadly, there will only be 900 bottles to go around, so I am not sure how likely that is. The Musigny was made with 80% whole bunches and was aged in 100% new oak. Tasted from barrel. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039. Biodynamic farming and non-interventionalist winemaking are at the heart of the approach at Domaine de la Vougeraie. The 2009s saw roughly a 25 days of maceration (including a week of cold soak) with one punch down a day. Once in barrel racking was kept to a bare minimum. A number of wines were bottled in late 2010 and early 2011. I tasted these wines with winemaker Pierre Vincent in March 2011.

Here an exceptionally fresh nose of citrus peel and white flowers merges seamlessly into rich and nicely detailed flavors that possess lovely intensity and an attractively dry finish that offers notably better depth and more length as well. This offers fine quality for its level. (87-90)/2013+

Made with 30% whole clusters. An intensely floral and extremely fresh red berry fruit and kirsch nose slides seamlessly into rich, detailed and energetic earth-laden flavors that possess unusually good mid-palate concentration and while the impressively persistent and well-balanced finish is quite firm, indeed even robust, there is no aggressiveness to the tannic structure. This offers terrific quality for what it is and is highly recommended. 2016+