Contents Pruning Began in November, Once the Leaves Had Fallen

A new chapter for the Domaine THE VINES IN WINTER At the start of this new year, the Domaine SKILLFUL PRUNING REQUIRED! de la Vougeraie is writing a new chapter in its history. Winemaker Pierre Vincent has Ladu DOMAINE lettre DE LA VOUGERAIE been at the helm for 11 vintages, and is now N°54. WINTER 2016 - 2017 moving to a fresh challenge, taking over the reins at another Burgundy wine house specializing in great white wines. Such is life! Pierre brought us a great deal over THE SPIRIT OF THE DOMAINE those years, and helped make the Domaine’s wines among the most revered from the Dear Friends, ♦ 2016, region. We thank him for this and wish him A YEAR OF EXTREMES well in his new venture. An early winter is not a But nothing will change, since the Domaine bad thing, both in the de la Vougeraie is pursuing the same path vines and in the cellar. The to excellence; the course we set for ourselves cold helps the wines age ♦ BEGINNING THE AGEING when the wine house was founded in 1999, correctly, and aids with OF THE 2016s and to which we have always remained soil preparation. The frost began in early November true. We will continue applying the utmost which, in addition to rigor at every stage of production, from some beautiful sparkling ♦ THE VINES IN WINTER the vine to the cellar, and all according to landscapes, brought SKILLFUL PRUNING biodynamic principles. real benefits. The winter REQUIRED Under the guiding hand of Sylvie Poillot, work in the vines is very important as the future depends on it, contents Pruning began in November, once the leaves had fallen. This year, because of the frost on 28 April, the Domaine’s director, a team of some 20 particularly when the plants suffered frost damage last spring and the subsequent loss of certain canes which never regrew, we were forced to take an individual dedicated staff worked alongside Pierre, and now need to be perfectly pruned. Moreover, this end of the ♦ A NEW CHAPTER FOR and will continue ensuring the precise and approach to each plant. The pruning has to allow the wood to grow, without necessarily the usual season coincided with the departure of our winemaker, Pierre THE DOMAINE uncompromising work that is involved support of the canes, to form the framework for the potential growth in the year ahead. It’s a fairly Vincent, who, after 11 vintages at the Domaine de la Vougeraie, in creating great wines. This includes six complicated task, and one for only the most experienced winemakers. It also takes more time because is saying goodbye to Nuits-Saint-Georges for a new adventure people in the winery and cellar, and a each individual plant must be given special consideration. in Puligny. dozen winegrowers under the watchful eye ♦ ♦ of two head growers, one for the Côte de We thank him from the bottom of our hearts for his wonderful Nuits and one for the Côte de Beaune. In general, they decided to prune the start of the cane each time, in a half-cordon de Royat. We will contribution to the excellence of our wines. The estate will live The purity of the fruit, which is the have to see how they’ve grown when it comes to removing the suckers. Pruning is done twice a week on with its young crew guided by Sylvie Poillot, in the same All the wines from signature style of the Domaine’s wines, has on a waning moon, and the rest of the time the wood is burned. quest for perfection, with the same faith in the biodynamic the Domaine have been its roots in the painstaking work done in the ♦ system, and continued painstaking efforts across all our certified organic vineyards, from pruning through to harvest, A half-hectare of Vougeot Clos du Prieuré was replanted with red at a density of 13,600 plants per appellations. ♦ guided by the lunar calendar and the hectare, along with a hectare of Beaune Montée Rouge in red and white. The Boisset Family and the Domaine de la Vougeraie team. natural cycle of the vines. The characteristic We also pricked out around 5,000 vines (the equivalent of half a hectare) to replace any dead vines or vibrant personality of our wines stems from THIS SEASON’S WINES this careful attention given to each of our ones damaged by the tractor, and earthed up significantly to protect them from the frost. 67 plots, and to each vat, at every stage of Then we spread compost as we do every year, after analyzing the soils, rotating every five years Savigny-Les-Beaune Bonnes Mares Gevrey-Chambertin the way. There will be many fine vintages depending on the needs and vigor of each one. Winter is a time for preparing for the future. We have blanc 2014 Grand Cru 2009 Les Evocelles En Foule ahead for our wonderful Domaine! had two or three weeks of frost which is very good for the soil, making it break down better in the Complex and intense aromas, both 2011 A very open nose evoking nutmeg and A delightful fresh and floral nose. honey. earthy and wild, floral and spicy, fresh spring and not be damaged by the tractors. and pure, combining vanilla and Concentrated, precise aromas. Rounded in the mouth and full of red fruit. Lovely length, firm with complex ♦ energy. Remarkable density in the mouth austerity and an underlying delicate Well-balanced on the palate with a with vigor in this chewy yet delicate wine, with a truly sophisticated minerality. touch of the tropical. Bottled in magnums, it can be kept A fine consistency, and a smooth texture. A surprising and refreshing impact, for many years to come. and harmonious finish. already balanced, although this DOMAINE DE LA VOUGERAIE – 7 bis, rue de l’Eglise – 21700 PREMEAUX-PRISSEY To be enjoyed with a fine steak with The perfect accompaniment to the wine can be kept for many more years. pepper or even béarnaise sauce. FRANCE – www.domainedelavougeraie.com delicate flavors of sushi and sashimi. Would shine with the pronounced TEL : (33) 3 80 62 48 25 – FAX : (33) 3 80 61 25 44 flavors of black truffle or a fine roast with mushrooms. [email protected] LL54GB.indd 1 14/02/2017 14:22 Harvesting yarrow in the estate’s herb garden, end June Beginning the ageing of the 2016s THE VINES & THE CELLAR 2016, A YEAR OF EXTREMES The 2016 vintage will be long remembered in The harvest began at the end of September, with The quality was such that just like last year, we were Burgundy as a year of perils. The winter saw a return to a more traditional start date for those able to vinify almost all the grapes in whole bunches, no frosts, and was very warm. Too warm. The vines that had been saved. But at what cost? At which is an unequivocal gauge of quality. Indeed, only spring was very wet. Too wet. Then a brutal frost the Domaine, we harvested much less than in a perfectly ripe grapes, both in terms of phenols and on 28 April hit almost the entire region, with a “normal” year, producing around 100,000 bottles sugars, are suitable for such treatment. This approach, few exceptions. May and June brought a deluge compared to an average yield of 150,000. The which we first introduced at the Domaine in 2008, has with 57 days of rain. At this stage, these extreme quantities were limited but there were some proved its relevance and allows us to hone the style of conditions meant the vines had suffered a lot, and disparities from plot to plot. Some showed no our wines, to perfect them, and to reach a certain depth they were then ravaged by mildew accentuated by of complexity along with that extra soul. decline in yield, such as Le Clos Blanc, while the frost, both on the grapes and the leaves. ♦ others produced almost nothing, such as Les The only slight hiccup in terms of the vinification was ♦ Corvées Pagets or Le Clos de Thorey. that such low quantities meant we had to blend several Fortunately, on 21 June, as the new moon plots for the first time, such as the Beaunepremier crus, coincided with the summer solstice, the sun ♦ in order to have sufficient volumes to vinify. But even By mid-November, the whites had finished 2011 and 2013. With such elements in play, began to shine and continued to do so all summer by blending La Montée Rouge, Les Grèves and Le Clos their alcoholic fermentation. This was we are already guessing ageing will be a long, with spikes in temperature from time to du Roi, we only obtained three pièces, which is only just completed fairly rapidly, which is a good fairly long process. time that even cooked the grapes in places in the The undisputed good news was that the quality thing for us as we prefer it not to drag on The reds were vinified in whole bunches, enough! Burgundy tends naturally towards lower yields, drought conditions. was exceptional, even though the vines clearly too long. They were pressed harder and apart from the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, prefer heat to wet with the low yields that brings. but the region hasn’t seen harvests as small as this for 50 ♦ longer than usual in order to extract the which was the exception that proves the The fruit was wonderful, and of rare quality. The years, and we’ve never experienced such small harvests essence from their thick skins.

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