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Tasting notes
Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru from Bouchard Père & Fils was one of the few that surpassed my expectations out of barrel. It has abundant red berry fruit on the nose - wild strawberry and blackcurrant, a touch of fennel coming through with aeration. There is oak here, but it is nicely enmeshed. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins. There is plenty of sweetness here, candied orange peel infusing the bright, tart cherry fruit, but maintaining fine precision on the finish.
Critic scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Great purity of fruit – loads of precise, ripe, delicious savoury redcurrant and raspberry. Has the kind of extra expression and openness you’d hope for from grand cru. Long, subtle fade and lots of power here. Excellent. (RH)
(from estate vines planted in 1978 and 1956; a blend of the top and bottom of the cru): Bright, dark red. Pungent stony minerality and black cherry on the rather cool nose. Then dense, sappy and sweet, showing a very fine-grained texture and terrific inner-mouth lift. This pliant, deep wine really saturates the palate on the long aftertaste, with the tannins thoroughly buffered by fruit. Just four barrels produced, vs. a permitted ten.
Ripe but scented red fruit, oak very much in the background in the aroma but more evident on the palate. Firm, compact and persistent. (JH)
About the producer
Bouchard Père & Fils is one of Burgundy’s oldest and most established wine producers. Founded in 1731 by Michel Bouchard, it is the largest vineyard owner in the Côte d’Or with 130 hectares of vines.