2016 Jacques Prieur Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru

Domaine Jacques Prieur

France / Burgundy / Domaine Jacques Prieur

100% Pinot Noir from a plot of 1.28 hectares situated "at the top of the bottom of the top". It's a large clos of 50 hectares created by the Monks of Cîteaux. The Château du Clos Vougeot housed their cellar, and is now used by the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. Clay dominates this terroir, which produces powerful and structured wines that are a little rustic in their early youth.
The grapes are harvested by hand, then sorted and completely destemmed. The fermentation lasted 23 days at controlled temperatures in open wooden vats. The team plunges twice a day during the active phase of alcoholic fermentation. 100% malolactic fermentation is carried out, and maturation takes place over 21 months in oak barrels.

January, 2018

Stephen Tanzer

Vinous Media

91-94 points

(at 13% potential alcohol, this cuvée was the highest in octane in 2016 and was not chaptalized; these vines were affected by frost--the yield was 24 hectoliters per hectare--but not to the same extent as the estate's Echézeaux and Musigny): Dark red with ruby tones. Captivating, ripe, soil-driven nose shows savory mineral and spice nuances. Silky on entry, then fine-grained and elegant in the middle palate, with nothing hard or rustic about it. Cherry and redcurrant fruit flavors are complicated by saline mineral notes and a suggestion of anise. Finishes with full, mounting, harmonious tannins and lovely energy and length. Very classic Clos Vougeot.

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About Domaine Jacques Prieur

Since 1868, Domaine Jacques Prieur has created one of the rarest mosaics of terroirs in Burgundy. Today it’s probably the only estate with vineyards on the greatest appellations both of Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, including Chambertin, Musigny, Clos Vougeot, Echézeaux, Corton, Meursault and Montrachet. This amazing collection is completed by other prestigious appellations and three clos monopole sites. Several of these phenomenal parcels of vines were snapped up at the turn of the 20th century by Jacques' great uncle. Current custodians, the Labruyère family of southern Burgundy, became involved in 1988. The domaine, which switched to 100% organic viticulture in 2000, is nowadays run by Edouard Labruyère alongside the heirs of the Prieur family. The warm and acutely intelligent Nadine Gublin serves as oenologist, a position she has held since 1990. Steeped in tradition and armed with a quality-at-all-costs philosophy, the lofty standards of this great domaine keep on climbing.

About

Nadine has been oenologist at the Labruyère family's Burgundy estate Domaine Jacques Prieur's since 1990. She has been technical manager there since 2009, when she also took the same role at Domaine Labruyère in Moulin-à-Vent. Well-known among fine wine enthusiasts for many years, in 1998 she was name Best French Winemaker by the highly respected Revue du Vin de France. She is an advocate of sustained farming, precise winemaking and optimal ripeness.