TN: '98 Drouhin Vougeot

Buying Clos de Vougeot without a lot of research can be rather risky, but Drouhin has a good reputation and usually will not release a Burgundy that is less than decent. I am glad you liked the 1998 . Many think that Mme. Leroy often makes the best Clos de Vougeot today, and apparently she thinks so also from the extremely high prices she charges. In addition, many of her top wines need much age. There seem to be several other examples of Clos de Vougeot that are nearly as good as Leroy at a much more reasonable price. Clos de Vougeot is such a large vineyard that the quality varies quite a bit over it, despite the ability of owners of various plots. Some think that some of the lower parts of the vineyard should never have been included as part of the Grand Cru vineyard. Some owners have multiple small plots in widely separated portions of the vineyard. With the very large number of owners, the locations of their plots, and their skill in growing grapes and making wine, it is no wonder that selecting a good Clos de Vougeot is perhaps more difficult than for any other Burgundy Grand Cru.

Thanks for the notes. The Drouhin CdV has a good rep- I believe its an estate wine? Did you note? As Cwdjrxyz notes, CdV is quite variable. But if you find a producer you like who isn't Leroy, it means they are comparatively affordable for Grand Cru (if one can use those two terms in same sentence)

No, I believe that it's a negoce bottling. It says "Récolte du domaine" and "Mis en boteille par..." on the label.

Mark Lipton

Oh, and more importantly, hope Jean is feeling better today!

I thought Recolte du domaine was the tipoff it's Domaine wine?

ON website, if you go to individual wines, you can see the Recolte du domaine on the estate wines, it doesn't appear on the negoce wines (see the Clos de la Roche or Clos St Denis). Says Drouhin owns several parcels in Clos Vougeot.

I have no doubt that you're right, Dale. In fact, my recollection was that Drouhin's CdV was estate-grown, but I was misled by the "mis en bouteille par..." which I thought was the signature of a negoce bottling. What you say jibes with my own recollection, so I'm certain that I'm mistaken about the import of the label.

Mark Lipton