Clos de Vougeot 1969 Faiveley – Vineut

Reseña profesional

Clos de Vougeot (sometimes “Clos Vougeot”) is the largest – and one of the most famous – grand cru vineyards in the Côte de Nuits subregion of northern Burgundy. It covers 50.9 hectares (125 acres) of land and is second only in size to Corton across the entire Côte d’Or. Clos de Vougeot is famously fragmented – it is divided into 100 different parcels owned by more than 80 producers – and its wines vary considerably in character and quality.

The site dominates the Vougeot appellation in the center of the Côte de Nuits. The grand cru Musigny, Echezeaux and Grands-Echezeaux vineyards are on the slopes above Clos de Vougeot, covering its western border.

The Clos de Vougeot was officially classified as a grand cru site in 1937, and was delimited according to the location of the clos wall, rather than the actual quality of the terroir. Many in the modern wine world openly question whether this decision was in keeping with the high standards imposed on the other Burgundy grand crus, and suggest that only some parts of this ancient vineyard are truly deserving of the classification.

The terroir of the climat is indeed varied, with an array of different soils and aspects, depending largely on the slope. The highest part of the vineyard has the best terroir, with vineyard soils made up of free-draining, pebbly limestone.

Further down the slope, the proportions of clay get higher – the mid-slope is still considerably well drained, while the lowest part of the vineyard, near the road, is more alluvial and holds a lot more water in the soil. The highest slopes also benefit from a gentle easterly aspect, giving them better access to the morning sun.

Clos de Vougeot’s uneven terroir was less of an issue before its fragmentation, as grapes from all over the site could be blended to achieve a balanced style under a single label. Now, each producer makes wine from just a small patch of terroir, sometimes producing grapes worthy of grand cru status – but sometimes not. This means that modern Clos de Vougeot wine is of highly variable quality.