Wine Advisor
Meo Camuzet, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2016
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Description
Meo Camuzet, Clos Vougeot, Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, Still, Red, 2010
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, matured in 80% new oak, has a vivacious bouquet, well defined with orange sorbet infusing the vibrant red fruit, gaining intensity all the time. The palate is medium-bodied with brown spices, hints of sage and clove infusing the red fruit. A vibrant and quite grippy finish bodes well for the future, although I suspect it may close down. A discrete but impressive Clos de Vougeot from Jean-Nicolas Méo. Tasted at the Domaine.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(25% of the crop was lost to frost; 85% new oak): Good medium red. Alluring scents of dark raspberry, mocha and game. This wine brilliantly combines charm and power, with its intense flavors of sappy dark cherry, herbs, licorice and violet supported by firming stony minerality. Dense, energetic and complete, finishing with excellent length. This unusually elegant Clos Vougeot strikes me as more successful in the context of its vintage than the 2015. And not at all austere despite the crop level of just 23 hectoliters per hectare.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, matured in 80% new oak, has a tightly wound bouquet with earthy, woodland scents permeating the red fruit. As an aside, I thought there were a few stems here, though Jean-Nicolas assured me there are none. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins, vibrant red berry fruit laced with orange zest and tangerine. There is a sense of this being a more linear, correct and conservative Clos Vougeot until it finally fans on the final third. Good potential.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, matured in 80% new oak, has a vivacious bouquet, well defined with orange sorbet infusing the vibrant red fruit, gaining intensity all the time. The palate is medium-bodied with brown spices, hints of sage and clove infusing the red fruit. A vibrant and quite grippy finish bodes well for the future, although I suspect it may close down. A discrete but impressive Clos de Vougeot from Jean-Nicolas Méo. Tasted at the Domaine.
About the Producer
Founded in the early 20th Century by Etie, Méo-Camuzet is one of the figureheads of Vosne-Romanée as well as an old family of the village. Back in 1920, founder Etienne Camuzet acquired 3 hectares of the house's flagship Clos Vougeot as well as the Château itself before donating it to the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. After WWII, the estate came to the management of Jean Méo who had agreements with vintners managing the vineyards and making the wines, the most famous of which was Henri Jayer. In 1983, the estate started to bottle some of its fruits under its own label and the sharecropping agreements eventually came to an end in 1988 when Jean-Nicolas Méo took over the management of the 17.2-hectare property. The meticulous work in the vineyard involves bud pruning in spring, careful trellising to ensure an optimal leaf exposure to sunlight as well as aeration of the bunches and green harvest may be performed if necessary. After harvest bunches are de-stemmed before a 3-5 days cold maceration prior to fermentation. The wines are then matured in oak barrels for 15 to 18 months before bottling. The winemaking aims at preserving the fruit purity to craft smoothly grained, profound wines with complex aromatics and silky textures. In order to ensure the quality acquired in the vineyard and revealed in the cellar is bottled unspoilt, the wines are not filtered. Jean-Nicolas Méo is also involved in a négociant activity which sources and vinifies grapes from vineyards managed by the estate before bottling them under the "Frère & Soeur" label. The attention to detail in the vineyards and the winery is the same as for the estate and allows the family to produce a wider range of appellation in lesser-known Côte de Nuits villages such as Marsannay or Fixin offering a great entry point to the wines of the domaine. Since 2011, this superb portfolio now comprises the first ever Grand Cru white produced by Méo-Camuzet: a Corton-Charlemagne.
