2012 Clos Vougeot
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru from Etienne Grivot has a fine bouquet with ebullient red cherry and raspberry fruit, plenty of wild strawberry and white pepper notes. It is sophisticated and very well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe red fruit laced with soy and Provençal herbs, even a suggestion of fennel, fanning out gently on the finish to complete a very satisfying Clos de Vougeot. No surprise when I discovered the identity of the grower.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Dark red. Reticent but pure aromas of raspberry and crushed rock. Silky and sappy on entry, then suave and sharply delineated in the middle, conveying an impression of vigor to its perfumed flavors of dark fruits, minerals and noble herbs. Perfectly integrated ripe acidity contributes finesse. This very sophisticated Clos Vougeot delivers a compelling combination of gras and vibrancy. Really stains the palate and echoes on the aftertaste, with the firm tannins buried in fruit. A beauty.
Reductive, slightly stinky nose. Lots of dark fruit. Forthright and powerful. Strong-armed. Impressive, but not yet nuanced. (RH)
Good bright red. Brilliantly pure aromas of blueberry, blackberry and crushed rock. Dense, sappy and sweet, showing outstanding energy and an almost painful structure to the intense, saline black fruit flavors. A distinctly virile style but the tannins are remarkably refined. Clos Vougeot is a grand cru that has been privileged by climate change, as very few producers today make versions with brutal tannins. Grivot's Clos Vougeot is all the more remarkable for the fact that one of his parcels is poorly placed along the Route Nationale in the northeast corner of the appellation.
About the producer
A benchmark name in Vosne-Romanée, Domaine Jean Grivot is one of Burgundy’s most respected estates. They have an impressive array of vineyards, including plots in Grand Cru Clos de Vougeot, Echezeaux and Richebourg.