Good medium red. Subtle, pure, high-pitched aromas of black cherry, blackberry, violet and licorice. Chewy, intense and penetrating, with plenty of stem-driven energy behind the saline, soil-driven flavors of minerals, dark berries and graphite. There's no easy sweetness here, but this builds impressively in the glass and leaves the taste buds quivering on the very long, lightly peppery back end. These firm tannins will need a decade of patience. Like the Grands-Echezeaux, this wine was aged in 80% to 90% new oak.

In contrast to the openness of the prior wines, this is closed and still quite tight and only aggressive swirling liberates a spicy mix of earthy red berry fruit aromas that are very much in keeping with the earth-suffused, serious and strikingly textured full-bodied flavors that possess plenty of sève and a moderately austere finish. In sum, this is an outstanding Clos de Vougeot though one that will require ample patience.

I have tasted very few bottles from d'Eugénie originating from the period soon after the inception of the domaine in 2006. The criticism leveled at that time was that they were trying to apply Bordeaux tenets in Burgundy and that the wines were heavy-handed. So how does the 2008 Clos Vougeot show? Does it contradict or validate that theory? The latter. It is not a bad wine, yet it feels brawny, brash and missing the grace and poise that winemaker Michel Mallard has imparted in recent vintages. It's sat for 12 years and not evolved into a wine that rewards cellaring. That's all. Tasted at Hatched restaurant in London.