Clos Vougeot tasting and slope exploration

WINE TALK
1

This tasting was an attempt to look at a broad range of mostly '99 vintage Clos Vougeot bottlings and see if we could determine which part of the slope the wines were from as well as pick our favorites. The flight of 12 wines was served blind and each wine was given a guess of the slope ranging from 1-low, 2-middle, 3-high. The slope rating was intended to be independent of wine style, flaws and quality. Instead, we focused on attributes like “airy-ness”, “musigny-ness”, dull versus bright, heaviness of fruit etc. I was very curious to see if these criteria would lead to accurate results. We also picked favorite wines.

The favorite wines were:
#1 '99 Leroy Clos Vougeot
#2 '99 Laurent Clos Vougeot (shocking!!)
#3 '99 G. Mugneret Clos Vougeot
#4 '98 A. Gros Clos Vougeot “Grand Maupertui”
#5 '99 Grivot Clos Vougeot

It was quite difficult to assess the slope of some the wines especially given some masking styles (ie Gros Freres). That said, of the 4 wines that the group rated as Upper slope (an average score >2), three of them were indeed made from upper slope parcels while one lower slope wine (Raphet) was thought to be upper slope by most of us. The biggest disappointment for me was the Engel. It really didn’t show well in this context and probably needs a lot more time.
One of the interesting aspects of the dual ratings (quality separate from slope) is that we really enjoyed some of the wines that did not seem “upper slope” in character. We tallied a Group Slope Average (GSA) which ranged between 1 (lower) and 3 (upper).

Our conclusion is that while the character of the upper slope does differ in character, some of the lower or mid slope wines were also quite good.

Here are some quick notes:
'98 Anne Gros Clos Vougeot-
Very minerally, very solid effort, some oak, not too much. This parcel is upper slope and the group slope average (GSA) was the highest at 2.8. Group #4 favorite.

'99 J. Raphet Clos Vougeot-
Minerally with some oak, light elegant fruit, slight cherry cough syrup detracts. This was from the bottom of the slope but rated GSA 2.8 (very incorrect). One of the two parcels is comprised of very old vines. This wine was good but in the middle of the pack from a quality standpoint. No votes as a favorite.

'99 G. Mugneret Clos Vougeot-
Reticent at first but very complex and very good with air. This is well positioned upper slope wine. The GSA was 2.2 and this was the group’s #3 overall favorite.

'99 Grivot Clos Vougeot-
Good complexity. Some stems??. Really good. This is from a lower parcel adjacent to RN74. The GSA was 1.6. This was the groups 5th favorite of the 12.

'99 Engel Clos Vougeot-
This wine seemed strange. It was a 2nd bottle after the first was corked. The tannins were quite green and the fruit seemed dull. I hope this is just a phase and this needs more time. It is from an upper slope parcel but received GSA of 1.0. No votes as a favorite.

'99 Gros Freres Clos Vougeot-
Green oak, lots of oak, lanolin, not good. This wine was very unattractive but comes form a parcel just under Musigny. The GSA was 1.4 and it received no favorite votes.

'99 Charlopin Parizot Clos Vougeot-
Some oak, decent fruit, nothing special.
This is from a lower parcel (near Vosne) and received a GSA of 1.8 (slightly below mid). No votes as a favorite.

'99 Leroy Clos Vougeot-
The very minty, spicy stems of this wine are very attractive. I thought the fruit was slightly dullish but the wine was very complex. This was the group’s favorite wine but only received a GSA of 1.8 (a notch below middle). Surprisingly that is about right since this wine is a blend of upper, middle and lower parcels.

'99 Laurent Clos Vougeot-
This was the biggest surprise of the tasting. While many wines showed some oak, this was not a very oaky wine. There was a little Brett which bothered some but the fruit was very airy, complex and dynamic. The wine is derived from old vines in the upper slope (Haegelen Jayer parcel). The GSA was 2.2 and this was the group’s #2 favorite.

'99 Faiveley Clos Vougeot-
Nice meaty CV. Some earthy charcoal-y character. This is sweet but quite tannic. It is derived from a large mid slope parcel and two small bottom parcels. The GSA of 1.8 seems pretty appropriate. No favorite votes.

'99 Meo Camuzet Clos Vougeot-
Caramel nose. Nice middleweight airy fruit. Lots of oak. Way too much.
This is from an upper slope parcel and received a GSA of 2.6. It’s interesting that many identified this as upper slope in character but it received no favorite votes.

'99 Hudelot Noellat Clos Vougeot-
Deep, meaty, dull, average quality, nothing special.
This wine is from a combination of upper and lower parcels. The GSA was 1.4 and received no favorite votes.

2

Interesting exercise Kevin, I have had a few Laurent Vougeots that served blind to Burg nuts have shown very well, including that 99 and the 96.
Best Regards
Jeremy

3

Awesome concept for a tasting, but it would seem there is a lot of “noise” in the data, or else slope position is not so important (I do not believe the latter, BTW). I’ve been away a few days, and just saw your earlier thread trying to locate the position on the slope of the various wines.

I’ll point out that both Hudelot-Noellat parcels are upper-slope, one at the very top to the left of the chateau, and the other adjoining the Meo parcel in the climat known as Les Chioure on Bill Nanson’s map. Kevin, your TN on the '99 H-N in the Vougeot Appellation thread a few weeks ago was much more favorable.

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Do you think the difference is bottle variation, or the context of tasting this bottle alongside all the other CdV wines?

4

Lew,
No doubt, there was a lot of “noise” in the data. I think there were many factors - flaws, aging phases, style issues etc - that contributed to that.
The H-N is a really good wine but in this context it was undistinguished. I think that blind tasting is a bit analogous to Winston Churchill’s thoughts on democracy. To paraphrase - “It’s a terrible format for tasting but better than all the rest”. I felt that many of the middling wines in this tasting would be outstanding on their own, but lineups (blind or otherwise) inevitably focus on differences and flaws and in that context it didn’t do as well.
I also feel that the signal to noise ratio in tastings decreases with the size of the lineup and 12 wines was pretty challenging…

5

Kevin,

Thanks for posting notes on this fascinating tasting. I am quite surprised at the good performance of the Laurent as well and not too happy about the mediocre showing of the Hudelot-Noellat. which is coincidentally the only one I have in the cellar.

6

Kevin:

A fascinating concept to test. I suspect that the noise level also has something to do with the frequency with which your various fellow tasters drink Clos Vougeot. Clos Vougeot is a tough sell in my group except in vintages like 2005.

I’m not surprised by the group’s top five except for Laurent. I own a lot of Laurent grand crus from 93-99 (though no Clos Vougeot), and for the most part I regret the purchases. The only wine I would have thought for sure would be a top five wine that wasn’t would be Hudelot-Noellat. I liked the 98 and 99 both very much about a year after release and that’s been the Clos Vougeot I’ve bought most frequently since 1995 (followed closely by Anne Gros and Grivot).

7

Kevin,
Great idea for a tasting. Thanks for sharing your group’s observations. Looked like the Anne Gros was the sole vintage outlier. How do you think the '99 would have fared in the lineup? While '98 is the “lesser” vintage, it should be more mature. Could that have affected the perception of its GSA?

Cheers,
Steve

8

Steve,
You might be right. Unfortunately we couldn’t locate a '99 but really wanted to include the producer. I thought the wine fared quite well amidst tough competition from the '99s.

9

Kevin,

Fun tasting. By any chance was the Laurent his TVV bottling? I have a couple of those bought at auction and it would be consistent with the Hagelyn Jayer parcel. I have a 93 HJ CdV and it might be interesting to open the two side by side in a few years.

Did you assess the overall quality of CdV as a grand cru and if so what were your thoughts?

Al

10

Al,
I think Clos Vougeot shows the dimension, complexity and concentration that is comparable to some other Cote de Nuits Grand Crus. It is often a bigger meatier wine, but it is also quite complex. I am a fan but I think the wines (like Corton) need more time to reveal their complex and elegant side.

11

Al, I think the VV is from H-J, I don’t know where the ‘straight’ CV comes from. The ‘TVV Sui Generis’ CV is from an undisclosed location. All three wines can be remarkable.

12

Thanks Tom. I always love the “secrecy” of these sources.

13

Kevin, I am not surprised at the showing of the Engel in your crowd. I last visited Engel in 2001 and tasted Philippe’s 1999s. I was extremly underwhelmed with the lineup…until it got to the Grands Echezaux, the top wine…when it got to “good”. Something didn’t work right there that year.