2002 CLOS DE VOUGEOT, Grand Cru, Louis Jadot. Burgundy

Clos de Vougeot is the largest (50 hectare) Grand Cru. To quote Jancis Robinson:
“The thrill of Clos de Vougeot is historical. Vines were first planted there in the 12th century by the austere monastic order based in nearby Citeaux, which they found too marshy for successful viticulture. The Cistercians accumulated land around their original holdings on the slope just south of the village of Vougeot so successfully that by 1336 the vineyard was essentially as it is today, Burgundy’s largest walled vineyard, or clos, with a press house and cellar attached.
Today, by contrast, Clos de Vougeot is most famous for the number of owners with a plot inside its historic walls – more than 80, many of whom sell their grapes to merchants or other growers – and for being the headquarters of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, France’s most famous vinous brotherhood.”

Louis Jadot is a large négociant (merchant) but this is from one of their own domaine vineyards. Big is not always bad in Burgundy – sometimes the know-how of the merchant results in better wine, particularly in lesser-known sites.

Just reaching full maturity; this has been a real ‘keeper’