Tasted in Premeaux with Sylvie Poillot and François Lecaillon, 14 November, 2017.
Domaine de la Vougeraie
Rue de l’Église
Premeaux
21700 Nuits St.Georges
Tel: +33 3 80 62 48 25
www.domainedelavougeraie.com
The first tasting here since Pierre Vincent has moved-on to Domaine Leflaive.
François and Sylvie on 2017:
“We’ve new vines but we did make our first harvest in the replanted Volnay Ez Blanches – it was only a few barrels – we will decide later where to put it! Vougeot Cras too, which was replanted in 2012 there were a few cases of fruit that went into the bourgogne as this was frosted in 2016. Overall, 2017 will, foremost, be remembered for the volume, but was a long harvest too, starting with the Côte de Beaune and then the Côte de Nuits – normally they are done at the same time – so we needed three weeks! We had good maturity though and very little to triage – a beau millesimé Bourguignone!”
François and Sylvie on 2016:
“3 wines are now bottled. Pretty much everything was frosted – from all our cuvées only 4 or 5 were not touched. All the Beaune 1ers were basically lost. We had 28 barrels of Côte de Beaune whites in 15, but 4.5 in 2016. It was worse in Savigny where we went from 22 barrels to just 2! We did a bit more whole-cluster fermentations in 2016, the fermentations were a little longer than in 2015 with the malos taking some time here. We think this a more Burgundy vintage, as it’s fresher than 2015.”
The wines…
The quality slowly building up to some very significant wines at this address in 2016.
2016 Bourgogne Pinot Noir Terres de Famille
Bottled in the summer, mainly Hautes Côtes de Beaune and Hautes Côtes de Nuits plus young vines from Thorey and Evocelles et-cetera. 30% whole-cluster.
A modest volume of aroma – but with an appealing red fruit. Lovely in the mouth, a transparent, not heavy wine that opens its arms invitingly in the finish. Faintly saline, very friendly, fine pinot fruit. Yum!
2016 Côte de Beaune Les Pierres Blanches
The only vines not in the domaine, this is a fermage arrangement with the local community
Also modest width, but fine red depth. More weight, but fine transparency, a little more tannin but energy and delicious, mouth-watering fruit.
2016 Pommard Les Petits Noizons
A more open nose, some whole-cluster notes in a floral and slightly reductive nose. More structured for sure, but the tannin has virtually no grain. The palate is wide, mouth-watering and showing darker fruit. Faintly saline. Very yum! And very long…
2016 Vougeot Clos Prieuré
‘Old vines, all millerandé each year.’ Heavily frosted in 2016, these vines on the limit with Chambolle, plenty of whole clusters.
Fine perfume of whole-clusters, lithe, linear, long wine. Really a delicious mouth-watering flavour. Ooh super!
7 parcels with a little Baudes and Gruenchers 1ers for good measure. Lots of frost, but super grapes at harvest – 100% wc
A suggestion of reduction, but here is a beautiful nose of energy and charm. Open, fresh, structured, melting with gorgeous flavour. A beauty – bravo! What a finish too!
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin
Multiple parcels – from all around the village. Bottling not much before March or April
Also a little toasty reduction. Very wide, beautifully structured, more weight of micro-grained tannin. Tasty, almost savoury, chewy structure in the finish.
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice
Much more freshness and delicacy of aroma here – a real invitation to drink. Nice volume, a fresh rather than a weighty and intense volume – but this has an interesting line of flavour into the finish
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles
One third of old vines
A deeper, darker and nicely open fruit – fine freshness of aroma here. More transparent, finer focus, dark fruit, a hint of spicy coffee perhaps – very fine.
2016 Vosne-Romanée Aux Champs Perdrix
A parcel bought in 2015 and this is the second year of the process of converting to Biodynamic – 100% whole-cluster and only two barrels, one new. The plan is only to bottle in magnum.
A little oak and plenty of fine whole-clusters, no greenery on show here – very Vosne. Fresh, fine, lovely texture and volume. Good structure in the middle. Not a big wine but a wine with fine balance and great flavour. These mags will be delicious in 10 years!
2016 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Marconnets
Ooh, this smells very good – some wc and a hint of reduction. Rounder, more depth of texture than the previous wines – here there is a small grain to the tannin but really some depth of extraction in the mid and finishing flavours vs the previous wines.
2016 Nuits St.Georges 1er Clos de Thorey
The Monopoly of the clos here – the middle of Aux Thorey – but really not allowed to write monopole, despite using the label for many years at Rodet…
Again a subtle reduction, faintly spiced – a wide and attractive nose – less overt depth. Good volume, like the last Savigny a little suggestion of grain to the tannin, but a lovely width of mid-palate flavour. Really engaging and flavourful, less overtly drinkable as 14 and 15, but the wine is really attractive…
This malo was much later than most. It was racked back into barrel about three weeks ago. No frost here – one of the rare ones.
Really deep, but that’s a hint of reduction talking. Becoming wider and much more attractive. Nice volume but here is about fine energy, beautiful structure, and lovely concentration. To wait for but this has fabulous potential…
A little more freshness with a twist of whole-clusters. Good volume, lots and lots of complexity though this certainly needs more tome to settle – but the mid-palate is grand cru level. For the patient, but bravo!
2016 Corton Clos du Roi
76 year-old vines, small grapes.
Ooh, a vibrant nose of fruit and whole-cluster perfume. Sleek, beautiful texture, a base of tannin, almost an attempt at minerality too. Really a great wine, the complexity really only launching towards the finish. Super, yet almost sauvage – like a Renardes!
2 parcels, one of 1 hectare high in the clos near the château, the smaller 0.5 ha parcel at the bottom, vinified separately.
A nice aromatic volume here, modest in complexity yet very inviting. Really lots and lots of volume, expressive flavour, beautifully structured. Grand Vin – easy!
More than 100-year-old vines.
Modest top notes but lovely depth of aroma. Energy, volume, a little extra depth to the texture, should this be after the Clos de Vougeot? I think yes – bravo!
From Chambolle-side, right on the border with Morey…
After the Charmes here is more freshness and more complexity. Ooh, now that’s a fabulous blend of freshness and practically perfect texture. The flavour slowly melting from the core. Floral finishing. This is one of the best wines of the vintage!
60% of a normal crop.
A modest weight of aroma but this is a tight ball of complex interest. Hmm, what to say – this is like the last wine but with more open width. The interest comes after swallowing (or spitting) this simply stays with you…
Les Blancs…
2016 Bourgogne Chardonnay Terres Familie
Majority is sourced from Hautes Côtes de Nuits, plus the young vines of the Clos Blanc.
A nose that’s directly more open than most of the reds, a little mineral. Ooh, this has perfect, silky texture. Wide, lovely mobile flavour. This is great for the label – to be bottled in summer.
Same parcel as the red
More width and clearly a finer nose. Fine freshness, more purity – less volume. Growing weight of flavour. Delicious – great wine with such a melting flavour!
2016 Vougeot Clos de la Prieuré
A vibrant, but slightly reduced depth of aroma. More width, more energy more complexity, a little less intensity and a little less overt purity – that’s probably caused by the touch of reduction today. But a really super wine with a great finish – even better than the Côte de Beaune
2016 Puligny-Montrachet
Two parcels Rue au Vache towards Meursault and Noyer Bret which is nearer Chassagne
Ooh – now that’s a great nose! The palate is very good, but almost disappoints after the brilliant nose. Mineral, fresh and really very tasty all the same… A great finish though – only the middle still needs work.
2016 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Champs Gains
Second vintage – 0.33 hectares that came from Girardin.
A nose that like the previous with some extra reductive complexity. Volume, complexity, slowly melting. This is very fine, but for the vintage it’s fine, not great. Delicious wine that I’d drink any day, again with a really great finish.
2016 Vougeot 1er Clos Blanc de Vougeot
Lovely volume of fine aroma here. An extra depth to the texture, the wine is complex, with modest though enough freshness. Really a super complexity here. Very yum!
Chassagne side, three parcels below Thenard’s Montrachet. 0.2 ha.
A hint of toasty reduction, but here is volume and complexity – this wine promises a lot! Weight, texture, but extra freshness and extra complexity – it delivers – directly, a great wine. Bravo…
2016 Bienvenues Bâtard-Montrachet
Almost 0.5 hectare, former Henri Clerc estate. Less frosted vs Bâtard.
A bigger aromatic too – also a little toasty reduction. A more saline, less deep but more intense flavour perspective. Super silky, and really intense. I have a slight preference for the Bâtard but this is definitely showing some more intensity today. .
2016 Le Charlemagne
2 vines – one week difference in harvesting – one le Charlemagne, one en Charlemagne. Now labelled since 2013 as ‘Charlemagne.’
A nice fresh volume – inviting very faintly reductive but less than the last two. Beautiful texture – it slides into the mouth, here more reductive, saline, very complex, growing in weight, concentration and intensity. Never too much because there’s fabulous balance. A modest yet haunting finish. Great wine, though today, despite the much higher price I’d take the Bâtard…
Also from Clerc, the smallest cuvée of the domaine – 2 barrels. Above Bouchard’s Cabotte, Next to Prieur and Dancer, hardly any soil there.
Deep attractive, complex nose. The biggest volume in the mouth here, complex, changing, perfect freshness. Great, great, great… just achingly long….