The 2016 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru Le Grand Maupertui is showing very well from bottle, opening in the glass with intense aromas of wild blueberry, cassis, spicy soil tones, licorice and violet. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and layered, with excellent depth and dimension at the core, displaying more concentration and fine-grained structure than the 2017 rendition and concluding with a pure, mineral finish.

This Clos Vougeot is lovely in 2016, with a brooding bouquet of black fruit, candied peel, woodsmoke and roast game bird. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, ample and rich, with succulent balancing acids, a layered core of fruit and fine but firm tannins which assert themselves on the back end.

0.93-ha plot of 80-year-old vines in the Grand Maupertuis sector, in the upper part of the Clos and towards the south. Seven casks instead of the 15 in 2015. And some years they get 18 or 19! Tank sample. Deep garnet. Savoury nose and very rich and concentrated. Relatively tough tannins. Briary and set for the long term. Very small grapes, as in Les Barreaux in Vosne, and one can taste the slightly dry tannins. (JR)