2008 Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertuis

Mid to dark crimson. Pretty and supple and super fruity on the nose. Lots of sweetness and richness and jewelly fruit. Great drive. It takes something for a wine to bedazzle so late in the tasting (I started at the end). Really very delicious already. Long. Bravo! (JR)

Tart but ripe black raspberry (as in the corresponding 2006) is joined by its spirituous framboise counterpart as well as grenadine; overlain by smoky peat and Latakia tobacco smokiness; and suffused with alkaline minerality and bloody meatiness as well as roasting pan-drippings in Gros’s 2008 Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui. Refined tannins permit an unusual degree of textural caress and finesse to emerge for such a young Clos Vougeot, and this finishes with saliva-inducing carnal savor, intriguing mineral nuance, and admirable purity of fruit. I suspect it will keep well for at least close to a decade, but I see no reason to deprive oneself of the pleasure of early (or, for those with the requisite disposable income, frequent!) acquaintance. Anne Gros always tends to prefer a light touch with extraction. This applies to a set of 2008s that she bottled already in December and agrees will probably be best enjoyed on the early side (though I suspect she might find my suggestions a tad too conservative). She picked until quite late, though, and – relative to most of her colleagues – even later in 2007, from which unfortunately I did not get opportunity to taste her collection. “The past three vintages,” she notes – including 2009 in her comment – “I’ve taken three weeks to harvest six and a half hectares, and I now regret that in the previous years I started too late,” meaning it was impossible to take as much time as she prefers for her wide range of elevations and exposures with grapes both black and white. (In 2003, harvest took place the 25th through 28th of August, the earliest and fastest harvest in the history of the domaine, but one Gros says she hopes fervently never to have to relive.) In Clos Vougeot alone, Gros harvested for five full days in 2008. A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93

Bright, dark red. Reticent aromas of blackberry and violet. Juicy, supple and sweet, offering an enticing balance between dark fruits and minerals. Finishes long and sweet, with pliant tannins for the vintage.