Clos Vougeot
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Clos de Vougeot, also known as Clos Vougeot, is a wall-enclosed
vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
, a ''
clos Clos may refer to: People * Clos (surname) Other uses * CLOS, Command line-of-sight, a method of guiding a missile to its intended target * Clos network, a kind of multistage switching network * Clos (vineyard), a walled vineyard; used in Fra ...
'', in the
Burgundy wine Burgundy wine ( or ') is made in the Burgundy region of eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here, and those commonly referred to as "Burgundies", are dry (wine), ...
region, and an ''
Appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...
'' (AOC) for red wine from this vineyard. It was named for the River Vouge, which is in fact only a stream separating the village
Vougeot Vougeot () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France. The name itself derives from that of the little river Vouge. Cîteaux Abbey established these vineyards in the 12th century. Rather unus ...
from
Chambolle-Musigny Chambolle-Musigny () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or ''département'' in eastern France. It is one of the wine villages situated on the Côte-d'Or escarpment, and is one of the twelve Côte d'Or communes of France which added or adopted the nam ...
. At , Clos de Vougeot is the largest single vineyard in
Côte de Nuits The Côte de Nuits () is a French wine region located in the northern part of the Côte d'Or (escarpment), Côte d'Or, the limestone ridge that is at the heart of the Burgundy wine region. It extends from Dijon to just south of Nuits-Saint-Georges ...
entitled to the grand cru designation, while Corton in
Côte de Beaune The Côte de Beaune area is the southern part of the Côte d'Or (escarpment), Côte d'Or, the limestone ridge that is home to the great names of Burgundy wine. The Côte de Beaune (France) starts between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Beaune, and exten ...
is the largest grand cru in
Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
as a whole.


History

The Clos de Vougeot vineyard was created by
Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
monks of
Cîteaux Abbey Cîteaux Abbey ( ) is a Catholic abbey located in Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, south of Dijon, France. It is notable for being the original house of the Order of Cistercians. Today, it belongs to the Trappists (also called the Cistercians of th ...
, the order's mother abbey. The land making up the vineyard was purchased by the Cistercians, or donated to them, from the 12th century to the early 14th century. The initial vineyard consisted of donations in 1109 to 1115. The vineyard was complete, and a wall had been built around it, by the year 1336. It served as the flagship vineyard of the Cistercians, and has been a highly recognised name for centuries. Château du Clos de Vougeot, situated inside the wall, was added in 1551 by rebuilding and enlarging a small chapel and some other buildings previously existing at the site. From 1945, this building has served as headquarters of the
Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin The ''Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin'' (literally "Fraternity of the Knights of the Wine-Tasting Cup") is a Bacchanalian fraternity of wine connoisseurs established in 1934 to promote Burgundian wines and culture. Originally formed und ...
.Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin: The Château du Clos de Vougeot
, accessed on May 31, 2009
In the French Revolution, all vineyard possessions were taken from the church by the French state, and sold off to private buyers. In 1818, the château and vineyards of Clos de Vougeot was bought by Julien-Jules Ouvrard, who also bought the
Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) and Grand cru (wine), Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy wine, Burgundy, France, with Pinot Noir as the primary grape variety. It is situa ...
vineyard in 1819. Ouvrard later moved to
Château de Gilly A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...
, another former Cistercian property, but continued to take an interest in the vineyards of Clos de Vougeot, which was then a monopole. After Ouvrard's death, Clos de Vougeot passed to his three heirs, but continued to be operated as a single property until 1889, when the heirs put it up for sale. It was bought by six Burgundy wine merchants, leading to a subdivided vineyard for the first time since its creation more than 700 years earlier. After that, the holdings have been progressively subdivided by inheritance and land sales. In the early 2000s, Clos de Vougeot was split among more than 80 owners. One of the 1889 vineyard buyers,
Léonce Bocquet Léonce is a French language, French unisex given name. People with the name Léonce include: *Léonce (actor) (1823–1900), French actor and singer *Léonce Bekemans (born 1950), Belgian economist and scholar *Léonce-Henri Burel (1892–1977), ...
, also bought the château, and initiated renovations of a part of it. In 1920, the château came into the hands of Etienne Camuzet, who was vineyard owner in
Vosne-Romanée Vosne-Romanée () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Population Wine It produces the region's most celebrated wines, all made entirely from the Pinot noir grape: "There can be little ...
and politician. He put it to the disposal of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, and on November 29, 1944 sold it to the organisation ''Société civile des Amis du Château du Clos de Vougeot'' ("Friends of the Château du Clos de Vougeot"), which gave the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin a 99-year lease on the property.


Layout and geography of the vineyard

The vineyard is roughly rectangular, gently sloping from a corner in the northwest down toward the south and east. The château is situated in this corner. Since the vineyard is large and situated in a slope, it is not homogeneous from a geological point of view. The soils have typically been a determining factor in determining the classification and extent of other Burgundy vineyards, while in this case, the wall-enclosed area has been classified in the same way. The soils of Clos de Vougeot generally considered as those giving the best wines are those surrounding the château in the top corner. The soils here are light
chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
y and
gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...
ly soils on
oolitic limestone Oolite or oölite () is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 millimetres; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisol ...
, with good drainage. This part of the vineyard borders to the grand cru vineyards Musigny and
Grands Échezeaux Grands Échezeaux is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot noir as the main grape variety. Grands Échezeaux is located within the commune of Fl ...
. The soils of the middle part of the vineyard consist of softer
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
with
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
and some gravel, and moderate drainage. Most other
Côte de Nuits The Côte de Nuits () is a French wine region located in the northern part of the Côte d'Or (escarpment), Côte d'Or, the limestone ridge that is at the heart of the Burgundy wine region. It extends from Dijon to just south of Nuits-Saint-Georges ...
vineyards situated at this level of the slope are classified
premier cru Cru is a wine Glossary of wine terms, term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French language, French word which was originally used to refer to both a region and anything grown in it, but is now mostly used t ...
, but one part of the grand cru
Échezeaux Échezeaux () is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot noir as the main grape variety. Échezeaux is located within the commune of Flagey-Echéze ...
borders on the middle part of Clos de Vougeot. The bottom part of the vineyard, situated in the east and bordering the N74, the main road of the area, consists of humus-rich
alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
clay and is almost flat, with poor drainage. This part of the vineyard borders village level vineyards in the south and partially in the east, mostly regional-level vineyards in the east, on the other side of the N74, and some Vougeot premier cru vineyards in the north. All other grand cru vineyards of the
Côte de Nuits The Côte de Nuits () is a French wine region located in the northern part of the Côte d'Or (escarpment), Côte d'Or, the limestone ridge that is at the heart of the Burgundy wine region. It extends from Dijon to just south of Nuits-Saint-Georges ...
are situated higher up in the slope, typically in its middle part, and no other grand cru vineyard stretches down to the N74 road. Of the AOC's 50.6 ha, are in production.


Regulations

Clos de Vougeot is an AOC for red wine produced from
Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...
. The INAO appellation rules nevertheless allow mixing in up to 15 percent of
Pinot blanc Pinot blanc () or Pinot bianco is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane wh ...
,
Pinot gris Pinot gris, pinot grigio (, ), or ''Grauburgunder'' is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but th ...
or
Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...
. In principle, wines from any still existing plantations of Renevey are also allowed, but replantation of this variety has been forbidden since 1938. The allowed base yield is 35
hectoliter The litre ( Commonwealth spelling) or liter (American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metres (m3). A cubic ...
per
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
. The grapes must reach a maturity corresponding to a sugar content of at least 189 grams per liter of grape must and 11.5 per cent alcohol by volume. When
chaptalization Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape must in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation. The technique is named after its developer, the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal. This process is not i ...
is allowed, the alcohol level after chaptalization may not exceed 14.5 per cent. Wines from Clos de Vougeot are also allowed the appellation Vougeot Premier Cru, if they fail to meet the standards of the grand cru itself. The Vougeot Premier Cru regulations are slightly less restrictive when it comes to yield and grape maturity, and more importantly, also allow the production of white wine from Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc. Thus, white wine that originates from within the Clos de Vougeot vineyard can be sold as white Vougeot Premier Cru, but not under the Clos de Vougeot AOC.


Wines

Both the geological heterogeneity of Clos de Vougeot, and the bewildering array of many small vineyard holders, contribute to making wines produced under the Clos de Vougeot AOC designation very variable in style and quality. Very fine wine of classic quality as well as very mediocre wines are produced here. The wines of Clos de Vougeot rose to fame when the Cistercians tended the entire vineyard and produced the wine. In producing Clos de Vougeot, the Cistercians first produced
cuvée ''Cuvée''Or Cuvee on some English-language labels. () is a French wine term that derives from ''cuve'', meaning vat or tank.J. Robinson (ed), ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'', Third Edition, p. 218, Oxford University Press 2006, winepros.com. ...
s from the different parts of the vineyard, and then blended them to produce a high-class wine. Typically, wine from the top and middle parts would be used, and only sometimes would the bottom part be used for the final Clos de Vougeot wine. Wine from lower down the slope can be better in dry years, so this blending practice allowed the production of a wine that should have been consistent in quality. Since the entire area inside the wall is part of the Clos de Vougeot AOC, wines from every plot of it is entitled to the grand cru designation. Wineries which only have holdings in the lower part of the vineyard are unlikely to be able to produce wine which represents typical Burgundy grand cru quality, and it is far from certain that they will be able to match many producers' premier cru wines. However, since the grand cru designation is both a matter of pride and profitability, wines are likely to be marketed as Clos de Vougeot AOC. The best Clos de Vougeot wines, when produced in a classical style, are typically dense when young, and robust rather than elegant in style. After some ten years of cellaring, however, Clos de Vougeot wines in this style can have developed into one of the most complete Côte de Nuits wines, and be fully on par with wines from more consistent grand cru vineyards. Some notable producers of Clos de Vougeot wine are
Domaine Leroy Domaine Leroy is a vineyard estate which produces red Burgundy. The winery is located in the wine producing village of Auxey-Duresses. The winery is split between negociant label Maison Leroy and wines of their own vineyards called Domaine Leroy. ...
, Mugneret-Gibourg, Méo-Camuzet,
Anne Gros Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in t ...
and René Engel.


In popular culture

Clos de Vougeot 1846 was the featured wine in the film ''
Babette's Feast ''Babette's Feast'' () is a 1987 Danish drama film directed by Gabriel Axel. The screenplay, written by Axel, was based on the 1958 story by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen). It was produced by Just Betzer, Bo Christensen and Benni Korzen, with f ...
'', whose feast is set in 1885. "Clos Vougeot" is the preferred restorative of Miserrimus Dexter, a character in
Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1860), a mystery novel and early sensation novel, and for ''The Moonsto ...
' 1875 novel, '' The Law and the Lady''. In Edgar Allan Poe's " The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" (1845), Clos de Vougeot is the wine being drunk at the feast. It is also mentioned in Poe's Bon-Bon. Clos de Vougeot makes an appearance in
Dorothy Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( ; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic. Born in Oxford, Sayers was brought up in rural East Anglia and educated at Godolphin School in Salisbury and Somervi ...
' short story "The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste", where it is one of the wines that
Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A amateur, dilettante who solves myst ...
must identify from memory. The Château du Clos de Vougeot is featured on a 1951 French stamp, designed and engraved by
Pierre Gandon Pierre Gandon was a French illustrator and engraver of postage stamps. He was born on 20 January 1899 in L'Haÿ-les-Roses (Val-de-Marne) and died on 23 July 1990. Youth His father Gaston Gandon was also an engraver at the Institut de gravure of P ...
, to celebrate its 400th anniversary. The Château first appeared on a French stamp in 1945 (30f).
Dennis Wheatley Dennis Yates Wheatley (8 January 1897 – 10 November 1977) was an English writer whose prolific output of thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling authors from the 1930s through to the 1960s. Early life Wheatley w ...
mentioned this version in his 1962 guide to many modern stamps “Scenes and Portraits”, recently rediscovered. In it, Wheatley states of Clos de Vougeot “The French hold it in such honour that whenever a French regiment marches past it, the order to salute is given.”. Lalique, the French glassmaker, designed a range of crystal glassware named Clos Vougeot after the vineyard in 1961. The stem is decorated with a
cluster of grapes In viticulture, the grape cluster (also bunch of grapes) is a fertilized inflorescence of the grapevine, the primary part of this plant used for food (grape leaves are also used in some culinary traditions). The size of the grape bunch greatly va ...
. The range was discontinued in 2006. (Cite https://www.lalique.com/en)


See also

*
List of Burgundy Grand Crus Grand cru (wine), Grand Cru (great growth) is the highest level in the vineyard classification of Burgundy wine, Burgundy. There are a total of of Grand Cru vineyards—approximately 2% of Burgundy's of vineyards (excluding Beaujolais wine, Beauj ...
*


References

{{Coord, 47, 10, 29.72, N, 4, 57, 19.74, E, type:landmark_source:frwiki, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1551 Geography of Côte-d'Or Burgundy (historical region) AOCs Buildings and structures in Côte-d'Or 1551 establishments in France