Bouchard Père & Fils : Clos Vougeot Grand cru 2018

The harvest in 2018 started on September 4th. It is impossible not to love this wine, although it is entirely different from the previous vintage. Produced, as in 2017, exclusively from the parcel in Plante l'Abbé, it was made with an inclusion of 30% whole bunches, a slow ferment in open-top wood fermenters, and a maturation of 12 to 14 months in cask, approximately half new. The resulting wine is rich, almost thick and viscous, with a pronounced dark black fruit aroma and a touch of sweetness and spice. If it lacks the definition of the 2017 vintage, it still impresses with its power.

Really spicy and decadent with crushed flowers, fruit and some grilled-meat undertones. It’s full-bodied with tight, tensioned tannins that nicely frame the fruit. Reserved yet complex flavors. A thoroughly beautiful wine. Drink after 2023.

The 2018 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru has quite a perfumed bouquet with brambly red fruit, sous-bois and wilted rose petals. This has delicacy and finesse. The palate is medium-bodied with a citrus-fresh entry, blood orange and marmalade infusing the dark berry fruit. Nicely proportioned with just a little oak to be soaked up on the chewy finish. Fine. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 red tasting.