Domaine de la Vougeraie Reviews

The Boisset family domaine, based in Vougeot, included some white parcels with long histories tied to the Abbaye de Cîteaux, as well as some prime plots of pinot noir. Their main parcel, 2.59 acres, is close to the top of the vineyard, with vines dating from the 1940s and ’50s to the early ’90s. A second parcel, at the bottom of the Clos, is just under an acre of vines planted in the mid-’80s. Their biodynamically farmed fruit comes together in a fragrant 2019, subtle rather than super-concentrated, bright, and rose-scented. Instead of weight, it offers length, continuing for minutes as it will continue for years in the cellar.

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.

Silky and loaded with black cherry, black currant and wet earth flavors. Delivers dusty tannins along with tar and iron accents. Compact, yet it lingers nicely on the finish. Best from 2025 through 2043. 169 cases made, 24 cases imported. — BS

Bright cherry and raspberry fruit flavors hold court in this light-bodied red, which is firm and persistent, gathering accents of earth and tomato leaf as this delivers a long finish. Best from 2024 through 2038. 385 cases made, 24 cases imported. — BS