The 2008 Clos de Vougeot possesses notable energy and power, even if today it is quite reticent. The 2008 is a muscular, cool Clos de Vougeot laced with dark fruit. From time to time the wine's inner perfume emerges, hinting at what awaits those who are disciplined enough to bury this wine in the deepest corner of the cellar.

Smelling of charred, grilled lamb, coffee, and fresh blackberry, cassis, and dark cherry, Grivot’s 2008 Clos Vougeot is firmly tannic and more muscular than any of his other wines of this vintage, with its tart berry intensity and deep meatiness not yet entirely reconciled. Persistently juicy, its finish is still a bit tripped up by faintly gum-numbing astringency. Crushed stone, pepper, and iodine add pungent interest, but also a certain sense of austerity. “We never want rapid malos,” notes Etienne Grivot, “but those in 2008 were not especially late or long by our standards – no longer than in 2002 or 2005. And I didn’t sulfur the wines when they were completed, because the volatile acids were really low and the pHs were very good” (i.e. low). Instead, most of Grivot’s 2008s were only sulfured after the 2009 harvest. Grivot gave them at least 3 weeks in tank before bottling, which took place between January and early April. Based on my intuitions and Grivot’s testimony, several of his 2008s were suffering significantly from post-bottling depression when I tasted them in late April, so readers should bear this is mind and recognize that my scores, in isolation, might prove misleadingly low. Grivot characterizes the 2008s as “dynamic but introverted” and “less accessible” than either the 2006s or 2007s, but that contrast appears to have been exacerbated by circumstances on this occasion. (In view of the delightful showing of two Grivot 2007s in April, I regret that I simply wasn’t able to taste more wines from that collection in the time available to me.) Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400

Good bright full red. Explosive aromas of flowers, minerals, smoky oak and underbrush. Tight and youthfully imploded in the mouth, and a bit hardened by the gas. This peppery, savory wine shows no easy sweetness today and finishes a bit disjointed, with somewhat tough tannins. Will this blossom with seven or eight years of cellaring?

Tasted out of barrel at the Domaine. I find just a little more leafiness on the Clos Vougeot than either of Etienne Grivot’s Vosne Premier Crus, quite earthy with blackberry, black olive and just a touch of smoke. Rather surly and ‘bolshie’ at present. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, quite dense and masculine with a grippy, assertive finish. At the moment, this is just lacking a little sophistication. Tasted November 2009.

Bright crimson. Sweet and nutty on the nose. Fragrant. A hint of cinnamon. Real delicacy too in terms of build although there is still some pretty fierce oak tannin on the finish. I wonder whether everything will finally come into balance? (JR)