Clos Vougeot Grand Cru - Pinot Noir (21) BG
Pinot Noir | Grand Cru wijngaard | perceel van 0,3 ha | geplant in 1956 | 50% whole cluster | rijping op eikenhout van 300l , tot max 30% nieuw eikenhout | diepgang en verfijning | potentie
Amelie Berthaut
Een van de nieuwe sterren in de Franse Bourgogne is Amelie Berthaut. Na de samensmelting van twee familie Domaines (Berthaut, Fixin & Gerbet, Vosne-Romanée) heeft Amelie maar liefst zestien hectare wijngaard in haar bezit met de volledige focus op Pinot Noir! Ze maakt een heerlijk volle rijke stijl Pinot met diepgang en intensiteit.
Review
The 2016 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru was not touched by the frost since the vines are located at the bottom of the walled vineyard. It has a refined, effortless bouquet with perfumed strawberry and raspberry fruit laced with wilted rose petals and quince. The palate is medium-bodied with chalky tannin, quite linear and correct, attenuating slightly toward the brisk, stony finish. Fine, if maybe I was expecting a little more fruit intensity.
Amélie Berthaut is rapidly becoming the most well-known winemaker in the village of Fixin, with the wines under her tenure gaining wide acclaim. That this has been contemporaneous with an expansion of holdings from her mother’s side of the family seems to have elevated her status higher still. With vineyard prices reaching stratospheric levels, it is rare not only to see someone young take over the running of a domaine and take it to a higher level, but to also be blessed with her family’s own vines upon which she can practice her craft. And to be honest, I cannot think of anyone who deserves it more. Nevertheless, she was not spared the onslaught of the frost in 2016, and I began by asking Amélie about the damage. “In Fixin it depends upon the vineyard. Some were affected up to 70% or 80%. We were lucky because we have so many different vineyards, and we are OK compared to other growers in Marsannay and Chambolle-Musigny. For some vineyards, we thought that the day after the frost it was really bad. As it turned out, the damage was not as severe as we expected. In Les Crais, 80% of the vineyard was frosted, but we lost around 40% to 50% of the average production. It was the oldest vines that found it difficult to grow again. There is no single-vineyard Gevrey Clos des Chezeaux. We started the picking on 26 September, and it was difficult to decide the order to harvest the blocks, and in the end we chose a different order to other years. We finished on 12 October in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits.” The outstanding wine this vintage was the Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux Saint-Jacques, a sublime expression of the vineyard that you would think had been crafted by a vigneron with dozens of vintages under their belt. Elsewhere, I admire greatly Amélie's Fixins that continue to demonstrate that this appellation could and should be taken more seriously by cognoscenti, particularly the Les Arvelets. Overall, it is another great vintage for a domaine that has enjoyed such a rapid ascent but is keeping its feet on the ground. Investments have been made in renovating outbuildings and installing some snazzy new concrete vats, but Amélie is taking everything one pace at a time. She already has some great wines under her belt. She will have many more. Neil Martin 91/100