Site: Vougeot is located bewteen Vosne-Romanée and Chambolle-Musigny. The Petits Vougeots lie between the Clos de Vougeot and the Amoureuses.History & tradition: the village is known for its famous Clos (French for "enclosure") first planted and surrounded by a wall at the end of the 12th Century by the monks of Citeaux and on which they built a castle which is now the seat of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin.Soil: deep, stony and favoured with a good drainage.
Viticulture
Plantation density: 10,000 vinestocks/ha in order to extract as much as possible from the terroir and limit the production of each vine stock.Pruning: Guyot.Yield: 40 hl/ha - low on purpose, in order for the grapes to reveal every nuance of the terroir.Grape supply: grapes and wines are purchased from regular supply partners (long-term contracts).Biological cultivation since 1990; biodynamic cultivation a few years later.Vine stocks: "sélection massale" (propagation of new vine stocks from a number of selected vines) done at the Drouhin nursery; also clones of recognized quality.Soil maintenance: compost of manure and white wood, sometimes guano (seabird manure used as fertilizer). Soil is ploughed either by tractor or by horse to manage spreading of weeds.Treatment: only authorized products for biological cultivation are used: infusions and macerations of plant materials, sulfur and copper, powdered rock. Natural predators are not eliminated.
Vinification
Harvesting: by hand, in small open crates in order to preserve the integrity of the fruit.Sorting of the grapes: in the vineyard and at the cuverie (winery) if necessary.Maceration: Maceration and vinification take 2 to 3 weeks Indigenous yeastsMaceration and fermentation temperatures under total control.Joseph Drouhin seeks total control of the process of extraction; extraction gives colour and substance to a wine but should never be detrimental to its finesse and typical character."Pigeage" (punching down of the cap during fermentation): once a day until half of fermentation is done; one pumping over (remontage) per day till the end of the fermentation.Pressing: separation of free run juice from pressed juice.
Ageing
Type: in barrels (20% in new oak).Length: 14 to 18 months.Origin of the wood: French oak forests.Weathering of the wood: Joseph Drouhin insists on total control of the weathering for a period of 3 years, one of the contributing elements to the elegance of the wine.Follow-up: barrel by barrel.Throughout the ageing process, decisions are taken only after careful tasting evaluation, barrel by barrel. The data obtained is then completed through technical analysis. As with every other Joseph Drouhin wine, absolute priority is given to the true expression of terroir and character of the vintage.
Tasting note by Véronique Boss-Drouhin
"The wine offers a nice bright deep red colour.The nose is both intense and refined.The palate develops aromas of violet and small red and black red fruits (raspberries, Morello cherries, blackcurrant). With age, it evolves towards undergrowth, truffle and liquorice, on a delicate, round and voluptuous structure, typical of the appellation.Long-lasting taste".
Serving
Temperature: 16°C (61-62°F).Cellaring: 5 to 20 years.
