Tag Archives: Clos de Vougeot

60 Second Wine Review — Domaine Coquard Loison Fleurot Chambolle-Musigny

Amber LeBeau in 60 Second Reviews, Burgundy, Wine reviews

Published on February 28, 2018

A few quick thoughts on the 2013 Domaine Coquard-Loison-Fleurot Chambolle-Musigny.

The Geekery

Domaine Coquard-Loison-Fleurot (CLF) is a 5th generation family estate currently ran by cousins Claire Fleurot and Thomas Colladot. For years, the fruit from their enviable holdings in the Grand Crus of Grands Echezeaux (0.18 ha), Echezeaux (1.29 ha), Clos de Vougeot (0.64 ha), Clos de la Roche (1.17 ha), Clos St. Denis (0.17 ha) and Charmes-Chambertain (0.32 ha) went to négociants. But since 2010, when Thomas took over winemaking, they have been domaine bottling over 90% of their production.

Recently, Neal Martin of the The Wine Advocate has described CLF as “…your new favorite domaine” that has flown under the radar for many years but likely won’t for long.

The Chambolle-Musigny comes from 0.8 ha of vines located just below the premier crus. In The Wines of Burgundy, Clive Coates notes the high quality of village-level wines in Chambolle-Musigny is partly attributed to their being so little of it. The high portion of limestone and low fertility means that Chambolle-Musigny always produces far less wine than neighboring communes like Morey-St-Denis and Vosne-Romanée.

The Combe de Chamboeuf between the Grand Crus of Bonnes Mares and Musigny often deliver hailstorms. In many vintages, this further reduces yields. But while 2013 saw hail devastate the Côte de Beaune, Chambolle-Musigny was relatively untouched that vintage.

The Wine

Medium-plus intensity nose. Very floral but it also has an exotic black olive and Asian spice note that is very intriguing.

The black plums are well balanced by the fresh acidity in this wine.

On the palate, dark fruits emerge like black plum and black cherry. The medium-plus acidity balances the fruit well. The medium tannins have a soft, silkiness to them. Lovely and long finish.

The Verdict

At around $75-85, this is a screaming bargain compared to the village level 2013 Chambolle-Musigny wines from estates like Comte de Vogue (ave $164), Mugnier (ave $142) and Roumier (ave $178).

While Coquard-Loison-Fleurot hasn’t achieved the level of acclaim as those estates, it may be worth taking Neal Martin’s advice and discovering this domain before everyone else catches on.

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Keeping up with the Joneses in Burgundy — Boillot edition

Amber LeBeau in Burgundy, Wine Knowledge

Published on January 19, 2018

An oft repeated truism in the world of Burgundy is that you should buy based on the producer rather than the vineyard or classification. But this solid piece of advice becomes difficult to follow when you run into multiple bottles made by producers with similar names.

In many cases, these estates are related by blood or marriage which creates a tangled web for a Burgundy lover to untangle.

As part of my own studies, I’m going to try to untangle some of these webs–one common surname at a time. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions for additions or corrections in the comments.

My tools on this journey, besides the internet, will be:

Remington Norman and Charles Taylor’s The Great Domaines of Burgundy
Clive Coates’ The Wines of Burgundy
Matt Kramer’s Making Sense of Burgundy
Bill Nanson’s The Finest Wines of Burgundy

We will start off with the Boillot family.

The Boillot family’s history of winemaking in Burgundy dates back to 1855 with the fifth generation of Boillots now running their eponymous estates. At several of these estates (like Domaine Jean-Marc Boillot and Domaine Henri Boillot) the sixth generation is working in the family business and preparing to take over.

In 1955, a conflict between Lucien Boillot and his father Henri lead to Lucien leaving his father’s estate, Domaine Henri Boillot, and starting his own winery. Henri’s other son, Jean, eventually took over Domaine Henri Boillot and renamed it Domaine Jean Boillot. Jean also married Colette Sauzet, daughter of the fame Puligny-Montrachet producer Etienne Sauzet.

Lucien had two sons, Louis and Pierre, with Louis starting his own estate in 2002 and Pierre inheriting control of Domaine Lucien Boillot et Fils.

Jean also had two sons, Jean-Marc and Henri, as well as a daughter, Jeanine, who married Gérard Boudot and now manages Domaine Sauzet. Jean-Marc started his own eponymous winery in 1989 while Henri started a négociant firm (Maison Henri Boillot) before eventually assuming what was left of Domaine Jean Boillot. To avoid confusion with his brother’s estate, he merged the holdings into his own domaine and changed the name back to Domaine Henri Boillot.

The Current Boillot Estates

Domaine Louis Boillot (Chambolle-Musigny)

Founded in 2002 when the estate of Lucien Boillot et Fils was split between Louis and his brother, Pierre. Louis is married to Ghislaine Barthod who runs her namesake estate in Chambolle-Musigny.
Prime holdings: Gevrey-Chambertain 1er Cru Champonnet (0.19 ha) and Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets (0.18 ha)

Domaine Lucien Boillot et Fils (Gevrey Chambertain)

Currently ran by Pierre.
Prime holdings: Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières (0.23 ha) and Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets (0.18 ha)

Domaine Jean-Marc Boillot (Pommard)

Founded in 1989. Prior to starting his own estate, Jean-Marc worked as a winemaker for Olivier Leflaive.
Prime holdings: Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champ Ganet (0.13 ha) and Les Combettes (0.47 ha)

Domaine Henri Boillot (Volnay)

Founded as a négociant firm in 1984. In 2005, Henri bought out his siblings shares of his father’s estate (Domaine Jean Boillot). He then merged the holdings into his own domaine.
Prime holdings: Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru (0.34 ha), Volnay 1er Cru Les Fermiets (2.4 ha) and monopole of Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère (3.99 ha) within Les Perrières

Additional Keeping up with the Joneses in Burgundy

The Morey Family
The Gros Family
The Coche Family
The Leflaive Family

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Geek Notes — Killer Clos Vougeot Map

Amber LeBeau in Burgundy, Geek Notes, Wine Knowledge

Published on January 9, 2018

Burgundy geeks!

For full map go to http://thevinofiles.typepad.com/the_vino_files/files/clos_de_vougeot.jpg

Just a tiny segment of the map showing most of “Cuvée du Pape” area around the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot

You have to check out this high quality (and downloadable) map of the Grand Cru Clos Vougeot over at The Vino Files.

I literally squealed when I came across this map while watching this interesting and well put together Youtube video essay on Clos de Vougeot by Antonio Ferrel.

While usually one of the most affordable and accessible Grand Crus, Clos Vougeot is saddled with the reputation of being highly variable due to its vast size (125 acres) and multiple bottlings being produced by 80+ growers. The tried and true advice to buy Burgundy based on producer, rather than necessarily terroir, is always the best approach. The video I linked to above by Antonio Ferrel names some top Clos Vougeot producers.

But what’s exciting about this map is that we can apply some historical context behind the terroir that the great producers of Clos Vougeot have. No one knew this land better than the Cistercian monks who planted and farmed the vineyard for almost 700 years. Carefully observing the vines and the wine produced from them, they subdivided the large Clos into essentially 3 bands or climats.

As Decanter noted in a 2011 article about the Grand Cru:

The top of the Clos (bordering the grand cru Grand-Echézeaux) is the best land – pebbly, oolitic limestone. The exceptional terroir was identified by the monks, who used it for their top wine: the Cuvée du Papes. Halfway down the slope, the soil is a mix of limestone and clay; the monks used this for their mid-level Cuvée du Roi. Further down still, the soil becomes more alluvial and drains less well – the plots left for the monks’ basic Cuvée des Moines.

One of the entrances to the walled Grand Cru of Clos Vougeot

This top Cuvée du Pape area includes the vineyards surrounding Château du Clos de Vougeot in what is essentially the top right hand corner of the map linked above.

Here we find such famous names as the Gros family, Meo-Camuzet and Hudelot-Noëllat. Seeing the favorable location of their terroir on the map makes it is no wonder why these producers regularly produce some of the most highly regarded examples of Clos Vougeot.

Studying the map, you find more recognizable names even in the less heralded Cuvée des Moines band of climats going downslope towards the RN74 auto-route. Seeing such esteemed names like Domaine Jacques Prieur, Domaine Jean Grivot and Louis Jadot reiterates the truism that great producers will still make quality wine even with less favorable terroir.

So have fun geeking out and exploring the terroir of the Clos Vougeot Grand Cru!

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that The Vino File site is still active (and the tip jar link on the site seems to have been removed). However, I still want to tip my hat to them for providing this fantastic resource for Burgundy wine lovers.