Domaine Francois Lamarche Clos de Vougeot 2012

One of the most famous and largest Grands Crus in burgundy the walled Clos de Vougeot was created by Cistercian monks between the 12th and early 14th centuries. The monks cleared, planted and amalgamated vineyard plots as and when they acquired them, eventually completing the final 50 ha walled vineyard by 1336. The Cistercians maintained ownership until the French Revolution, when all clerical estates were dispossessed.A 10 ha domaine in Vosne whose jewel in the crown is the monopole La Grande Rue, which was elevated to Grand Cru status in 1992. After years of neglect by previous generations François oversaw a steady improvement in quality throughout the 1990s and in the last few years his daughters have helped raise the qualitative bar further still. As of the 2007 vintage the François' daughters have total control of the winemaking. The approach is fairly hands off in the winery and hands on in the vineyard. Grapes are mostly de stemmed, depending on the vintage, and between 50-100% new oak is used. These are Burgundies that display ripe, hightoned fruit and strong terroir complexity.