Albert Bichot : Clos de Vougeot Grand cru Dom. du Clos Frantin 2019

Deep and rich with a slew of forest-berry character and hints of caramel and bitter chocolate. Serious concentration, built on excellent tannic foundations. Although this has been built for serious aging, you could still open the bottle now and experience everything that makes this wine remarkable. Drink or hold.

A blend of two plots, one located on the lower part of the clos with deep, clay-rich soils, the other on the upper slope. It combines the clos’s signature floral delicacy—perceptible on the nose and in the very long finish—with a relatively firm structure that will warrant a few years in the cellar.

It shows the same olfactory signature, with a powdery nose, as all the wines from this great house. Conversely, the palate has that beautiful backbone of the Clos, with fruit that is both fresh and ripe, good density, and silky-grained tannins. Let’s hope it absorbs its luxurious oak.

This linear red is defined by the tightly woven tannins underlying its bilberry, currant, earth, mineral and oak spice flavors. In the end, this is a little astringent, yet powerful too, with a lingering finish. Best from 2025 through 2043. 200 cases made, 26 cases imported.