Today it is Pierre Vincent who is in charge at the Doamine de la Vougeraie and is ably assisted by Amandine Terrier. Amandine has been with Vougeraie for a little over 1 year, Pierre is a more recent recruit from Boisset’s Jaffelin ‘brand’ where he made some very nice 2004’s.
Hidden behind a wall in Vougeot with the Vouges as one of its borders is the monopole vineyard of the Clos du Prieuré. Thirty years ago it was a garden, but today it’s planted to both chardonnay and pinot noir. Here’s a snapshot of the most recent vintages:
2005 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Rouge
The nose is soft with red fruit – not to rich. Soft, supple and sweet on the palate with some grain to the tannin. This is quite serious and recommended. |
2004 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Rouge
The nose interesting with a forward impression and quite floral and elegant though edged in a cedar frame. Good concentration and very fresh. This is a nice and easy wine with a good finish. |
2003 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Rouge
The nose is deeper, a little reduced, sweet but not too sweet. Quite some density on the palate, low acidity and no sharp edges. An easy wine to drink. |
2002 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Rouge
After the 2003 this is aromatically more elegant with pure pinot fruit. Nice and fresh in the mouth with some density, good acidity and a nice minerality. This is also subtley long finishing. A very nice wine indeed. |
2001 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Rouge
Softer nose, just a hint animale and nicely round. This is a super 2001 with perfect texture and plenty of concentration. Long. Very impressive and complex too. I liked it a lot. |
2000 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Rouge
Candied red fruits on the nose and despite a hint of reduction this is nicely fresh for 2000. The palate is a little more angular and less elegantly textured than the 2001 that preceded it. Plenty of complexity and reasonable length, but his is much less a ‘complete’ wine than in 01. |
1999 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Rouge
Deep nose. A trace of reduction is insifficient to hide the width and depth of the fruit – more mature notes on display with this wine. This is quite powerful wine, held in-line with good acidity, faintly grainy tannin and a good length. Despite the secondary notes on the nose this is still very-much a young wine. |
The red is usually harvested at 25-30 hl/ha, whereas the white – which is planted bordering the Vouges is more like 30-35 hl/ha. 2005 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Blanc
Wide, ripe and fresh nose – this was, like the red, already bottled in September. The palate is plump, ripe and just a little exotic. Good length and quite some interest, but for my table I’d like a little more freshness. |
2004 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Blanc
It’s a fresher and for my taste much more interesting nose. Nicely textured and again quite plump, though just a little sleeker than the 2005. There’s a nice burst of concentration on the mid-palate and a good finish. I’d still like a twist more of acidity, but this is anyway very nice. |
2003 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Blanc
The nose is much more understated than the 2005 – less obviously ‘ripe’ too. There’s the same opulent and quite rich palate – almost oily – the flavours really cling to your palate. This is surprisingly long. The plump family resemblance is in place, but this is quite well balanced for a 2003. Almost good in the context of the vintage. |
2002 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Blanc
The nose is quite different to those that went before, honey and kiwi fruit – it’s super in a rather exotic way. Lots of things are happening on the palate, this is certainly the most complex and interesting wine – if less typical in style. |
2001 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Blanc
This has a nice, fresh, perhaps more typical nose. The palate shows richness but for the first time the level of acidity to suit my taste. It’s less complex than the 2002 – perhaps younger showing – very nice wine. |
2000 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Blanc
Gunflint, sweet fruit and waxy notes m ark a lovely and interesting nose. The palate is rich and has almost enough acidity for me. Nicely complex, I see this as a wine that could pair superbly with the right dish – a very good wine. |
1999 Vougeraie, Clos de la Prieuré Blanc
A wide and quite young showing chardonnay nose with just a faint caramel edge but little other development. Sweet and soft, concentrated with almost good acidity and sweetly long. No rush to drink this young showing wine. |
A small selection of 2005’s
This small selection of 2005’s I tasted looked good, even in the context of the vintage.
2005 Vougeraie, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Marconnets
Powdery red fruit – very 2005 with it’s ripe red aspect. It’s quite a narrow entry but this wine expands in the mouth in to the mid-palate. Just a little oak texture on the finish. Very good potential here. |
2005 Vougeraie, Gevrey-Chambertin
The nose is a little muskier with darker fruit. Very fresh presentation, again the flavours expand well in the mid-palate, nice texture to the tannins. Just a little less oak on the finish this time – it’s a good length too. Fine villages. |
2005 Vougeraie, Clos de Vougeot
There’s an extra width on the nose and a subdued lower register of dense fruit. Again, lovely texture to the tannins but this time they are more concentrated. Plenty of oak texture and flavour on the finish, but this will fade. Classic Clos de Vougeot, just a little austere but bags of potential. |
a selection of 2004’s
Maybe it was the Pascal Marchand effect, but I was a little underwhelmed by the 2004’s last year – at least relative to what I’ve tasted from other vintages from this domaine, but they had only just been bottled when I tasted them so perhaps they were not at their best. These 2004’s showed quite well.
2004 Vougeraie, Côte de Beaune Pierre Blanche
High tones mix with faint reduction. Forward acidity on the palate but with sweet fruit to match. The tannins are less svelte than the prior 2005’s and show just a little bitterness in the finish. On the plus side there is good density of flavour here. At it’s level this is almost good. |
2004 Vougeraie, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Marconnets
The nose is rather understated – just a twist of oak toast and again a hint of reduction. Just a little less ripe than the 05 version but well balanced with fresh acidity and nice finish. |
2004 Vougeraie, Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice
No reduction, sweet fruit with a cedar edge on the nose. This is a real mouthful of wine with very good acidity and plenty of concentration. The finish lingers really well. Despite the cedar on the nose this is rather good. |
2004 Vougeraie, Nuits St.Georges 1er Les Damodes
A deep red nose with more than a touch of spice to the sweet fruit. Given time the nose adds coffee and a faint cedar edge. Plenty of concentration on the palate and it’s matched by quite some volume of fine-grained tannin – little astringency. Super length. This is a demmanding wine, but a very good one. |
2004 Vougeraie, Charmes-Chambertin (Mazoyères)
A super nose; wide, deep creamy and red. A super palate to match the nose, it’s concentrated and has good acidity – it’s like a meal in itself – delicious. The finish is a good one with some faintly bitter oakiness. Excellent. |
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