AmericanWinery.com

A very famous grand cru vineyard located in the commune of Vougeot in the Côte de Nuits district of France’s Burgundy region. The Cistercian monks first planted portions of the vineyard in the twelfth century, adding to it during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Its 125 walled acres make it the largest single vineyard in the Côte d’Or. Only red wines from Pinot Noir grapes are produced. Although clos de Vougeot’s reputation has been stellar in the past, today the wines can vary considerably—choosing a wine from this vineyard isn’t easy. Clos de Vougeot is often used as the example of Burgundy’s fragmented ownership patterns. There are approximately eighty owners of individual parcels within Clos de Vougeot, and the location of the parcels within the vineyard have an impact on the quality of the wine. The upper portion of the vineyard is capable of producing the best wines, followed by the middle section. While the lower portion has poor drainage and is the least effective land, better producers can coax excellent wines out of it. Conversely, there are examples of less-than-impressive wines from the upper section. The bottom line is that choosing a good Clos de Vougeot wine requires knowledge of both the producer and the vineyard parcel.