Domaine de la Vougeraie - Vougeot 1er Cru 'Clos Blanc de Vougeot' 2019

As old as the Clos de Vougeot, The Clos Blanc de Vougeot was Cîteaux Abbey’s song of praise. The monks planted the first vines nine centuries ago, and the white wine pressed from the golden grapes filled the abbey-church’s cruets for almost 700 years. Such precious drops of gold, blinding and rare, are like an island of Chardonnay in an ocean of Pinot Noir... A single violin at the heart of an orchestra. The Clos Blanc de Vougeot used to be known as the Petit Clos Blanc de Cîteaux, or simply Vougeot’s white vineyard. Like the Clos de Vougeot, it was founded by the monks of Cîteaux, which was constructed on the nearby plain in 1098. Saint Bernard was almost certainly present at the first harvests in Vougeot, which date back to 1110. 

This vineyard has always been planted with white grapes, a tradition started when the Cîteaux monks planted the forerunners of today’s Chardonnay to produce a white wine for their sacrament. This walled vineyard is special for another very rare reason. Despite the French Revolution in 1789 when national property was sold off, the Clos Blanc de Vougeot remained a monopole, an undivided property. Nurtured by Jules Ouvrard then Jules Régnier in the 19th Century, it belonged to L’Héritier-Guyot it in the 20th Century and now forms a part of the Domaine de la Vougeraie, sole owner of the monopole. 

“Beautiful pale colour with the lightest of green inflections. Really perfumed, so many layers here, because there is a lively identity behind the immediate sunshine perfume. As much as the more exotic part of the fruit wants to lift itself above the parapet, the Cistercian strictness of the terroir reins it back in. It’s a gorgeous wine which will give pleasure young and old.” - 95 Points, Jasper Morris

“A stellar wine. This monopole is picked in three different passes to ensure optimal ripeness. After whole cluster pressing and fermentation with most of the lees in cask, it will age over two winters. The result in 2019 shows ripe peach and floral aromas, with a dense, waxy texture that is really lovely, and a length on the palate that suggests a brilliant future for ageing.” - 95 Points, Decanter

“This intense, powerful white is marked by citronella, hazelnut, peach and Matchstick aromas and flavors. Settles down on the palate, building to a long finish of lemon, stone and saline notes and revealing pedigree on the length.” - 94 Points, Wine Spectator

Producer: Domaine de la Vougeraie

Country: France

Region: Burgundy

Varietal: Chardonnay

Appellation: Vougeot 1er Cru

Vintage: 2019

Size: 750ml