Tasted in Thibaut’s newly refurbished lair in Pommard, 25 October 2023.
Domaine Clerget
12 Rue de la Combe
21190 Volnay
Tel: +33 3 80 21 61 56
www.domaine-clerget.com
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Thibaud on 2023:
“I worried about the red quantity – but in the end it was good and clean, just a little shriveled – I was drastic with my triage in 2023 where I threw away 30%!! I like the balance and the pH”
Thibaud on 2022:
“Just Puligny-Perrières was bottled by hand before the harvest – the rest will be done tomorrow! I didn’t have large volumes in 2022 – But I have 32 and 34 hl/ha on average in both 22 and 23. 25 August started harvesting in 22. I did zero pigeages – I didn’t want to extract – just to keep the freshness. We also harvested only in the mornings to keep the picked grapes cool. I’ve 4 new hectares of purchased vines – I will change the training a little and move directly to organic farming from lutte-raisonée. But I’m keeping the vineyard manager as he was doing a great job. These 2022s are showing quite hard today as we recently racked and assembled – they were much easier to taste when in barrel.”
The wines…
What a super range of wines this year – they were tasting a little austere due to the stage of their elevage but with chiselled clarity – I found them really top!
2022 Bourgogne Aligoté
A parcel bought in 22 – with some old vines – barrel elevage and 50% new – there were just two barrels.
Calm aromatics – honied, slightly saline. Wide, succulent but growing in intensity too – that’s a lovely citric finish. Super.
2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Perrières
Bought grapes – all new oak. A contract here since 2019 – but just 1 barrel.
Ooh vibrant with a suggestion of reduction in the depth. Incisive, chiselled wine – only a hint of the barrel right at the end of the finish – very well balanced for 100% new.
There’s a Meursault Bouchères too from the négoce this year. The Bourgogne is just racked and sulfured so not tasting – the following are planned for bottling in March:
2022 Volnay
From 2 parcels – Petit Gamay plus Echats in the bottom of Champans.
Very aromatic with pretty red fruits – lovely. I like the fine structure of this – fine but also strong – like porcelain. Finishing clean and easy – excellent villages.
2022 Volnay 1er Brouillards
Also a new domaine parcel – of about 30-year-old vines but lots of déperisment, so the yield is low….
A vibration of reduction – but only an accent. Broad and growing more mouth-filling. Really fine and clean finishing – another very good wine.
2022 Volnay 1er Santenots du Milieu
Two parts 15 and 20 years-old – only 8 instead of the potential 18 barrels.
Extra volume here – clean and precise once more – lovely purity of red fruit. Extra intensity here – round, complex finishing – less direct and chiselled but with a bit more finishing intensity. That’s super!
2022 Volnay 1er Clos des Angles
55 year-old vines – 50% wine-globe elevage for this.
Broader and deeper width – a suggestion of reduction once more. Wow intensity – very direct, very red-fruited. Small finishing bitters and finishing quite perfumed – a wine to be patient with unless you’re searching for this strict intensity – but I love it!
2022 Volnay 1er Clos de Verseuil (Monopole)
Over the wall from Taillepieds and below the Clos d’Audignac.
A broader width darker berried quite vibrant fruit. Also broad and intense but with a hint more depth – a mm or two of cushion vs the Clos des Angles. Long, long with a mineral style… Super wine!
The oldest vines of the domaine – 95! ‘Ony 16 hl/ha due to the limited number of grapes and the size of those grapes – but that’s a lot better than the 5 hl/ha in 2021!’
Fine and pure nose. Wonderful in the mouth – concentrated and intense yet it washes effortlessly over the palate. Broad and almost seamless in the finishing flavour – simply excellent and potentially a great wine.
There are 3 other volnay cuvées; Mitans, Carelles and Champans which weren’t available for tasting, due to the low volumes:
Old vines like in Caillerets (80) with some whole bunch too.
A different style of aroma – wide with a finely divided complexity – really inviting. Ooh – what a mix of energy and complexity – a tour de force – I love it. Bravo. I’d wait for this – but with anticipation!
2022 Clos de Vougeot Grand Maupertuis
Half whole cluster in this case.
A really aromatic wine – that’s a great invitation. Broad and really intense – the finish saline and texture of the tannin but without grain from that tannin. The finish really haunting, majoring today on the structural aspects of this impressive wine. That will certainly be excellent.
And for the road:
2021 Volnay 1er Carelles sous la Chapelle
Ony two barrels of this, manually bottled from the barrel.
Very faintly reductive. Hmm – great texture – wide and still with concentration – beautiful wine!
2021 Volnay 1er Caillerets
Like the last, 2 barrels, manually bottled direct from the barrel – a tiny rendement in 2021.
A subtle savoury reduction but still a larger, rounder aromatic than the Carelles. Small explosions of complexity – like fireworks – I love the way that this wine is showing – complex and still concentrated – and in the style of Thibaud’s 22s these 21s sit very well. Super wine!
2021 Clos de Vougeot Cuvée Felix
The elevage of this cuvée is different – in wine-globe but the base wine is the same as that which has elevage in barrel – only about 200 bottles are produced.
A subtle reduction but a more overt red fruit too. The blend brings an almost gooseberry effect. Round, complex, a little reductive, intense with a grain of non-drying tannin – it’s texturally just like a very fine sand. Really a width in this finish – that’s so impressive. I think for best results I’d wait about 5 years for this and probably as long as you like after that.