2010 Domaine de la Vougeraie Clos de la Vougeot Grand Cru

Medium red. Expressive aromas of strawberry, earth and game, lifted by a subtle floral element. Broad and rich on the palate, but with good focus to the red fruit and smoky earth flavors. Finishes with substantial dusty but fine-grained tannins and excellent length. Boasts plenty of early sweetness but I'd lay it down for six or seven years.

The 2010 Clos de Vougeot possesses stunning textural depth and richness. Layers of dark red fruit, smoke, licorice and sweet spices are woven together beautifully in the glass. The energy and wiriness of Vougeot is palpable, but there is more than enough fruit to fill out the wine’s broad shoulders. This is another fabulous effort. The domaine has two parcels in Clos Vougeot: a 1.2 hectare parcel next to the chateau and a second smaller parcel measuring 0.23 hectares on the bottom part of the vineyard by the main road. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2045. This is stunning set of wines from Pierre Vincent and Domaine de la Vougeraie. It is impossible to miss the attention to detail at this impeccably run domaine. No expense is spared. It takes 80 people to work the vineyards during harvest and another 20 in the cellar to take it from there. Production in 2010 was of course down significantly as it was everywhere else. Yields came in at 24 hectoliters per hectare for the Pinot and 29 for the Chardonnay. Vincent used between 30-80% whole bunches, depending on the wine. Readers who want to learn more might want to check out my video interview with Pierre Vincent on www.erobertparker.com. I will report on the domaine’s 2009s in the April issue. For now let me just say the 2009 Musigny is one of the wines of the vintage. Importer: Boisset Family Estates, St. Helena, CA; tel. (800) 878-1123 1

50% whole bunch. Very sweet and smooth and powdery. Spicy and lipsmacking. Satisfying. Really rather gorgeous. (JR)