Tasted in the Pommard cellar with Thibaud Clerget, 31 August 2021.
Domaine Clerget
12 Rue de la Combe
21190 Volnay
Tel: +33 3 80 21 61 56
www.domaine-clerget.com
More reports for Domaine Clerget
Thibaud on 2021:
“Only our Clos de Vougeot and Bourgogne avoided the frost as they were pruned just the week before the cold – the rest has nearly 70% losses. We also had to treat more and try to keep the grapes more aerated to avoid the maladies of the year.”
Thibaud on 2020:
“Certainly, an interesting vintage and I liked the cleanliness of the grapes – always good in your first year of certification! I started harvesting on 22nd August but it was hard to choose the day – too much alcohol or not quite ready – you could choose! We had more volume than in 2019 but not a lot. The colour was extracted very quickly. Unfortunately, the dryness meant we lost a lot of vines on the 161-49 rootstock they simply didn’t support the dry and heat.”
The wines…
My enthusiasm for Thibaud’s wines seemed to grow and grow with every new one tasted – he has an ethereal elegance in his wines this year – yet – they are lacking no concentration. Brilliantly done!
2020 Bourgogne Rouge Lamboits
50-year-old vines, all destemmed, no new oak. Probably could be bottled soon.
A bright red fruit that’s attractively perfumed. Supple, easy but still with a serious side – concentration and depth. Broad finishing and long with a saline edge. That’s a very impressive start.
2020 Volnay
From 2 parcels – Petit Gamay plus Echats in the bottom of Champans. All destemmed and no new oak – like the Bourgogne.
A whiff of reduction but blowing off to show a slightly more direct nose. Wider, more structural but still a soft-edged wine. Much wider and with a stronger almost stony finish.
I find nice precision in these first wines.
2020 Volnay 1er Santenots du Milieu
Young vines.
Wide, faintly reductive, mineral aromas too. A saline airy edge to this flavour. Lovely tension and elegance – not a big wine but a beautiful one!
2020 Volnay 1er Clos de Verseuil (Monopole)
Over the wall from Taillepieds and below the Clos d’Audignac.
A rounder nose, a faint barrel smoke too. More concentration but lots of freshness that balances. Slowly more mouth-watering. I marginally prefer the Santenots but certainly here is a more concentrated wine.
15 hl/ha but mainly due to the 90-year-old vines – just like last year.
Clarity, precision of fruit. Direct but also wide there’s everything here that I might wish for in Caillerets – bravo!
Old vines like in Caillerets (80) with some whole bunch too – ‘I want to drink this in 5-10 years’ says Thibault…
Airy, complex, faintly rose perfumed. More concentrated, beautifully textured, vibrant and mouth-watering flavour to finish. Bravo again!
There is some négoce again in 2020, labelled Y Clerget. Normally négoce is only white but, like last year, here’s a red. The domaine’s Meursault is being pulled out to replant so there won’t be much domaine white for a few years:
40% whole cluster
Flinty firework reduction. Direct, wide, so mouth-watering, full-flavoured thats a great mouthful of wine – bravo again!
2020 Clos de Vougeot Grand Maupertuis
50% wc and a mix of new and 1-year-old barrels. The wc all in the bottom of the tank and the destemmed grapes on top
The nose is perfumed, saline, wide and complex. Melting flavour – fuller in style. Impressive flavour impact, showing both the tannin and the whole clusters but vibrantly flavoured. That’s very excellent!