Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2020

Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2020

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Description

    93-95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

    Outer quote mark The 2020 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru is very promising, unfurling in the glass with aromas of wild berries, cherries, orange rind, potpourri and loamy soil. Full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, it's seamless and complete, with superb depth at the core and a long, resonant finish. It will be fascinating to compare with the 2019 rendition in two decades' time. Jean-Nicolas Méo began his harvest on August 23, and he has produced another fine vintage at this Vosne-Romanée reference point. Méo has always done well in warm, sunny vintages (as a lovely bottle of his 2003 Nuits Lavières recently reminded me), and 2020 is no exception. Indeed, for a vintage that was generally somewhat primary and frequently tightly wound this winter, Méo's wines—habitually quite backward after 12 months' élevage—were remarkably put together and expressive. Mostly landing at around 13.5% alcohol, they're vibrant, concentrated and nicely balanced, showing considerable aging potential. (WK) Inner quote mark (1/2022)

    93-95 points Vinous

    Outer quote mark The 2020 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru had to shake off a little reduction before revealing its minerally blackberry, raspberry and cassis fruit. Wilted rose petal emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, nicely focused yet surprisingly strict and linear at the moment. This will gain "shoulders" once in bottle. (NM) Inner quote mark (12/2021)

    94 points John Gilman

    Outer quote mark Jean-Nicolas Méo’s 2020 Clos Vougeot is really, really refined this year. The wine delivers a complex and very pure aromatic constellation of red and black cherries, plums, dark chocolate, gamebird, violets, a touch of fresh nutmeg, complex soil tones and a nice foundation of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a lovely core of sappy fruit, excellent mineral undertow and grip, ripe, buried tannins and impeccable balance on the long, suave and classy finish. Fine, fine juice. (Drink between 2035-2095) Inner quote mark (11/2021)

    92-94 points Allen Meadows - Burghound

    Outer quote mark Discreet but still perceptible wood-suffuses the ripe aromas of black cherry, currant, newly turned earth and a floral top note. There is a lovely sense of underlying tension to the palate coating and nicely detailed medium weight plus flavors that offers excellent depth and persistence on the relatively refined if youthfully austere finale. This is more structured than it usually is and is a wine that is going to require at least a decade of aging first. Inner quote mark (1/2022)

    K&L Notes

    94-97pts Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy: "Apart from 2017, Jean-Nicolas Méo only makes one commercially available cuvée of his substantial holding of Clos de Vougeot. Even purple throughout. This is a sturdy, weighty, richly dark fruited, multi-layered wine, with great potential for the long term. Ripe but not exaggerated. Tasted: December 2021."

    --------THE PRODUCER--------

    Méo-Camuzet

    Méo-Camuzet is one of the most celebrated domaines of the Côte d’Or, located in the heart of prestigious Vosne-Romanée. The domaine boasts fourteen hectares of land in some of the most spectacular appellations and crus of Burgundy. The vineyard land in Burgundy is highly parceled out among families, which makes it rare for anyone to have enough vines to be able to bottle one grand cru, let alone the six that the Méos have. The early beginnings of the domaine left it in the hands of métayeurs, or share-croppers. The last twenty years have brought substantial changes that have fostered a new chapter for the Méo family.

    Founder Étienne Camuzet was not only a passionate vigneron, but a full-time politician, and spent most of his time in Paris, representing the Côte d’Or. In order to keep his land in use, he offered it to capable share-croppers to farm. By the time his daughter had inherited the estate, she found herself with no successors, so the estate was passed down to her closest relative, Jean Méo. Jean was also deeply involved in national politics—he served as a member of Charles De Gaulle’s cabinet. Consequently, he, too, had to direct the domaine from afar. In the early 1980s, as many of the métayeurs were starting to retire, it became clear that the domaine needed a new direction. Jean’s son, Jean-Nicolas had also spent most of his life in Paris. By 1985, it was his turn to take the helm. In lieu of continuing to rent out their highly-pedigreed vineyards, he made the bold decision to slowly start reclaiming the land for the domaine’s own bottlings. He called upon the resident expert, one of Burgundy’s greatest winemakers of all time, Henri Jayer, for guidance. Henri had spent over forty years farming parcels from Méo-Camuzet under his own label, while enjoying celebrity status in the Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant portfolio. For three years, he mentored Jean-Nicolas during the transition and finally decided to retire in 1988. Though Jayer passed away in 2006, his legacy endures to this day.

    Jean-Nicolas has since directed the cellar and sales. He has put the vineyards in the capable hands of Christian Faurois, son of one of domaine’s métayeurs, who has dedicated himself to these vineyards since 1973.

    Domaine Méo-Camuzet bottles six astounding grands crus (Richebourg, Clos de Vougeot, Échezeaux, Corton Clos Rognet, Corton Les Perrières, and Corton La Vigne au Saint), ten premier crus (from the communes of Vosne-Romanée, Nuits-St-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny, and Fixin), several village wines, one Bourgogne Rouge, and only three whites. Jean-Nicolas aims for balance and purity of fruit, which he accomplishes with terrific success. Though delicate and fine, even in their youth, the paradoxical concentration and intensity of these wines make them ideal for long cellar aging. These rare, stunning achievements are a Burgundy lover’s dream.