The 2012 Bonnes-Mares emerges from a parcel on the Morey side that is rich in clay, which gives the wine much of its breath and pure, unbridled power. Rich, powerful and explosive, the 2012 Bonnes-Mares is a gripping Burgundy that takes hold of all the senses. Layers of flavor seem to fill out in all directions. Cool veins of minerality give the blue and black toned fruit a sense of cool, invigorating energy that is hugely appealing. The 2012 was vinified with 80% whole clusters and is aging in 80% new oak. It is above all else a wine built on serious balance.

(80% vendange entier ; 60% new oak): Full medium-deep red. Sexy, soil-inflected aromas of briary raspberry, brown spices, woodsmoke, white pepper and truffley underbrush. Sappy and sharply delineated, showing rather powerful wild red berry fruit along with complicating notes of minerals, roasted herbs and brown spices. A superb, nuanced expression of this great grand cru, offering a complex blend of light and darker soils (70% of the estate's vines are in Chambolle-Musigny). Powerful acidity gives this wine a whiplash of a finish.

The 2012 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru comes from the domaine’s 0.70-hectare parcel that consists of a myriad of plantings between 1901 and 1998. It was aged in 80% new oak and the same percentage of whole bunches. It is much more occluded on the nose compared to the Clos de Vougeot, partly because of the dominance of the new wood. The palate is dense with firm tannins, chocolate-tinged black fruit at its core with citrus notes towards the finish. Here, I feel the new oak is just overwhelming the personality towards the finish. Perhaps 50% new oak would have worked better? Domaine de la Vougeraie was founded in 1998 when the domaines of Claudine Deschamps, Pierre Ponnelle, Louis Voilland and L’Heritier-Guyot were merged. I remember it well because at the time I was exporting L’Heritier-Guyot’s wines to Japan (to be frank, they were quite ordinary back then.) The man behind the venture was Jean-Claude Boisset, whose own considerable holdings meant that Domaine de la Vougeraie became a significant player in the Cote d’Or, with 37 hectares of prime vineyard including seven grand crus to their name. I have to be honest and say that like many others, I liked the first few vintages of their wine, but found them a little predictable and seemed to struggle for charm and personality. Perhaps that was a reflection of former winemaker Pascal Marchand applying the practices he had learned at Comte Armand: a lot of new oak with 100% de-stemmed fruit – not really my bag. When he departed for pastures new, incoming winemaker Pierre Vincent seemed to apply a gentler touch. The new oak is still part of the wines’ character, but there is certainly a more considered approach, plus he is more open to using whole cluster fruit. Managing such an array of wines with a relatively small team cannot be easy in challenging vintages such as 2012, or for that matter 2013. Pierre told me that his average yields were 22 hectoliters per hectare, though for the grand crus, they were down to 17 hectoliters per hectare. Importer: Boisset Family Estates, St. Helena, CA; tel. (800) 878-1123