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Coming from the same one-hectare plot as the Vieilles Vignes planted in 1910, only the first shoot on each old vine is selected for the Jean Morin, who was the maternal grandfather of Francois Labet. Monsieur Morin was from Nuits-St-Georges and an accomplished athlete. He was a member of the French delegation in both the London summer and Saint Moritz winter Olympics of 1948, fencing and bobsledding respectively. He was also a confirmed driver paticipating to the Mille Miglia or Monte Carlo Rally. The wine expresses the prowness of the man, broad shouldered and powerful, showing firm tannins, supreme elegance and a phenomenal finsh.
COLOR: Deep ruby
AROMA: Spicy plum, earth, and dried flowers are pronounced with subtle oak aromas.
TASTE: Lush, dense and full-bodied flavors of rich, concentrated dark fruits are layered with firm muscular tannins, with an endless finish.
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Deep ruby in color. These old vines offer dark berry aromas, violets, tobacco and minty notes. 100+ year old vines generates concentrated and rich flavors of dark fruit, plum, cassis and blackberries. This is a muscular yet balanced and well-structured wine that rewards cellar aging.
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Moderate but not invasive wood sets off overtly floral red and dark berry fruit aromas that are liberally spiked with warm earth and spice wisps. There is a refined,even caressing texture to the medium-bodied flavors that possess good levels of dry extract along with solid punch and power on the firm and lightly austere finale.
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Here the nose is compositionally similar to that of the regular cuvee but as is usually the case it is more reserved, more complex and the wood treatment is more subtle. There is notably better concentration to the impressively rich, powerful and muscular big-bodied flavors are shaped by dense but relatively fine tannins on the wonderfully long, balanced and again youthfully austere finale. This terrific effort is really most impressive though note well that it is going to need at least 10 years of bottle age and reward 15 to 18.
95-Burghound
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The Cuvée Classique (as this wine is known) is drawn from the Domaine’s parcels on the mid-slope of the clos as well as parcels on the lower and upper parts of the vineyard. There are six parcels in total. The main parcels are situated in the middle of the clos and include the lieux-dits: Montiottes Basses, Quatorze-Journaux and Quartier Marei Bas (home also to the 1910 planted vieilles vignes parcel). The smallest holdings are those in the Quatorze-Journaux and Baudes-Saint-Martin lieux dits, two parcels at the bottom of the slope that sandwich Etienne Grivot’s vines, and La Plante l’Abbé, at the top of the clos, near the Château and the Grands-Echezeaux border. These vineyards have been managed organically for well over 20 years and now average around 67 years of age. As for all the reds here, this is 100% whole bunch, fermented in concrete with wild yeasts and then aged in 50% new oak. The barrels are fashioned according to each season by Stéphane Chassin in Charente.
Testing Note : A highly perfumed red burgundy with loads of spice, ripe plum and blackberry fruit, and a plush and silky texture with fine tannins in support. Deep and powerful, yet fleshy and sweet fruited with earthy, tobacco notes on the long complex close. When you consider the pricing now being paid for GC wines of equivalent quality, this still represents very fair pricing.”A ripe and very fresh nose offers up notes of maraschino cherry, plum, raspberry, spice and distinct floral wisps. There is excellent concentration to the succulent but quite powerful big-bodied flavors that possess a sleek mouthfeel thanks to the relatively refined tannins shaping the youthfully austere finish that flashes fine depth on the highly persistent finish. I like the balance and this should age effortlessly.”
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(13.2% alcohol; 18 hectoliters per hectare produced; from vines harvested on September 23): Bright, moderately saturated medium red. Explosive, fruit-dominated aromas of dark berries, cherry, spices, mint, menthol, flowers and minerals. Conveys compelling sappy energy in a silky, medium-bodied package, with its black fruit and herb flavors complicated by a touch of saline minerality. Boasts glorious density of fruit–and near-perfect balance in spite of the very low yield. The very long, rising, perfumed finish offers a serious tannic spine for aging but no rough edges. This penetrating, urgent, classic Clos Vougeot, a standout for the vintage, boasts real pinosity. François Labet told me that, beginning with his 2015s, he did not use enzymes and did not add any sulfur until the middle of the élevage, well after the malolactic fermentations finished. He bottled this 2016 with just 20 parts per million free sulfur and 35 total.
96 POINTS – STEPHEN TANZER – VINOUS
