Domaine Y. Clerget, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2022 - 300cl
A double magnum of Grand Cru red Burgundy is a rare thing, and this one carries real weight behind the format. Domaine Y. Clerget has farmed vines around Volnay and Pommard since the thirteenth century, and Thibaud Clerget, the twenty-eighth generation, revived the estate in 2015 after a spell selling fruit away. His holding in Clos de Vougeot runs to barely a third of a hectare on the Cote de Nuits, and the 2022 sees roughly half whole-bunch fermentation with maturation in around half new oak. The warm, generous 2022 season has given it flesh without tipping into excess.
The nose is profound and slow to reveal itself, moving through black cherry, dried herbs, a lift of mint and a darker note of liquorice, with the whole-cluster stems adding savoury spice. The palate is structured but supple, medium to full in body, the tannins fine-grained and the grip gentle rather than forceful. Black fruit, loam, white pepper and bay leaf carry through a long, quietly insistent close. This is a wine that rewards the cellar, and in this large format it will move even more slowly, holding its fruit for a decade or more. Pull the cork for a milestone worth gathering people around.
How to Serve
Serve at 16 to 18C in large Burgundy bowls. Decant a young double magnum an hour ahead to let the whole-cluster character settle and the aromatics spread.
Where to Drink It
Wiltons on Jermyn Street, for old-school ceremony that suits a bottle this size.
Noble Rot Soho, if you want the sommelier team fussing over it.
Scott's Mayfair, for a long lunch that earns the format.
Food Pairings
Roast rib of beef, carved at the table for a crowd, with the bones and juices doing the rest.
