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The commune of Vougeot is in the center of the Côte de Nuits, flanked on the north by Chambolle-Musigny and on the south by Flagey-Echézeaux and Vosne-Romanée. Its vineyards cover only 155 acres, and are unique in that the sole grand cru vineyard, the largest single vineyard in the Côte d'Or, occupies 124 of these, leaving 31 acres under Vougeot's four premier cru vineyards and 12 acres in Vougeot village. This grand cru is the walled vineyard of Clos Vougeot; outside its walls are the premiers crus of Les Petits Vougeots, Clos de La Perrière and Les Cras, which produce red wines; and La Vigne Blanche, a 7.5-acre premier cru monopole of L'Héritier-Guyot which produces the unique Clos Blanc de Vougeot. Annual production is 1,990 hectolitres (22,110 cases) of which 63 (700 cases) are white. The Clos Vougeot was founded in 1112 by the Cistercian order under St. Bernard de Clairvaux. The monks began with a few acres of vines, and built a small chapel and press house at their edge. Over the next 200 years, various members of the nobility bequeathed a great many vineyards to the order, and during this period, construction of the wall surrounding its vineyards was begun. The wall enclosing the present 124 acres was completed in 1336, but it was not until 1555, under the 48th abbot of Cîteaux, Dom Jean Loysier, that construction of the present château was begun. From the outset white vines, probably of the Pinot Blanc variety, were cultivated within the walls of the Clos, and a certain proportion of white grapes were vinified with the red to yield a rosé wine. At the end of the 1700s, when more deeply-colored wines began to be preferred, the Clos' white vines were gradually replaced by Pinot Noir. The Clos Vougeot vineyard remained intact in the hands of the church until the French Revolution; since then it has been fragmented, and today, there are upwards of seventy owners. The geologic composition ranges from chalky clay, high in pebbles, on the higher parts of the slope, to moist, compact soil richer in humus and with fewer pebbles on the lower. These variations in soil, and the numerous individual owners, account for the variation in the wines. Louis Jadot is one of the principal owners in the Clos Vougeot, with a 6.36-acre parcel assembled primarily from its acquisition of the vineyards of Clair Daü and Domaines Champy in the 1980s; Jadot controls, in addition to this, another 1.73 acres through long-term contracts. It is vinified to produce a rich wine of power and depth which retains a subtlety of body and elegant complexity, with full, fragrant and distinctly floral bouquet. Le Clos Vougeot Vougeot is named for the River Vouge, which is in fact only a stream separating Vougeot from Chambolle-Musigny. The principal village of Vougeot, which dates from the early tenth century, was originally known as Gilly, and later, in the Burgundian fashion, as Gilly-les-Vougeot. The nomenclature has since dispensed with Gilly and is simply called Vougeot. Its inhabitants number approximately 200. The Clos Vougeot was founded in 1112 under the Cisterian order by St. Bernard de Clairvaux, who at the same time founded the Bernardine order of the Clos des Dames de Tart. The monks of Vougeot, who had recently separated from the order of Cluny to pursue a more rigorous discipline, began with a few acres of vines and built a small chapel and press house at their edge; they cellared the wines at the Château de Gilly-les-Vougeot, a few miles away in the village. Over the next two centuries, various members of the nobility in search of divine beneficence bequeathed a great many vineyard plots to the order, and during this period, construction of the wall surrounding the already considerable vineyards was begun, to be completed in 1336. Only in 1367, as storage space for the wines grew critical, did Philippe le Hardi authorize construction of a château at Gilly-les-Vougeot, which was completed five years later. The present Château du Clos Vougeot, however, dates only from the sixteenth century. The beginning of the project was begun under the forty-eighth abbot of Cîteaux, Dom Jean Loysier. Story has it that a monk he had entrusted with drawing the plans committed the unpardonable sin of pride when presenting his plans to his abbot by declaring that the perfection of the château would be the glory of the order. With this in mind, the abbot sent the plans to the chapter superiors. A month later a decision was returned: the chapter had submitted the plans for review to another monk who had transformed the design into a heavy, massive structure. "My son," related Loysier, "here are the new plans. They have been modified, but it is you who will sign your name to the documents and yourself oversee their execution; thus your name will be tied for eternity to this edifice, punishing you for your sin of pride and vanity." In 1555, just as construction of the château was about to begin, the young monk, crushed by his shame, died of sorrow. It is supposed that from the very outset the white grape vines, probably of the Pinot Blanc variety, were cultivated within and on the small plot just beyond the walls of the Clos. White wine was used in the celebration of the mass, and it is further supposed that a certain proportion of white grapes were vinified with the red to lend suppleness to the wine. Vinification methods of the period were such that the grapes were pressed and the must drawn off the skins almost immediately, resulting in a rosé, or "oeil de perdrix," rather than a red wine. At the end of the 1700s, when more deeply- colored wines began to be preferred, the white vines within the Clos were gradually replaced by Pinot Noir. The only remaining parcel of white vines, outside the wall, is "les vignes blanches" of Clos Blanc de Vougeot, a monopole of L'Héritier-Guyot. Great care was devoted to the cultivation of the vineyard under its sole monastic ownership, and the variation in the quality of the soils, inevitable in so large a cru, was recognized and respected accordingly. The vineyard is situated on a roughly trapezoidal plot, sloping from northwest down toward the south and east. The finest soils are those surrounding the château in the northwest corner; the least lie along the flat eastern border, where the drainage is relatively poor. The composition declines from chalky clay high in pebbles on the higher parts of the slope, to moist, compact soil richer in humus and with fewer pebbles on the lower elevations. Thus, each year the monks made three cuvées, one each from the top, middle, and lower thirds of the vineyard, usually keeping the finest wines from the upper portion of the vineyard for the reserve of the abbey. The wines of the Clos Vougeot were quick to take their place beside the already great, renowned growths of Chambolle-Musigny and Vosne-Romanée. The Popes while in exile in Avignon were sent wines from the Clos Vougeot, and according to Petrach, they were reluctant to return to Rome and forfeit their access to it. In 1359, the Abbot of the Clos sent a gift of thirty barrels of wine to Pope Gregory XI, and four years later was rewarded with an appointment to full cardinal. Later, in 1792, Colonel Bisson, en route through Burgundy to defend France's border from advancing Austrian troops, ordered his brigade to stop and present arms before the Clos Vougeot, a tradition which has been respected by passing troops ever since. The Clos Vougeot remained intact under the church for over six centuries, until the French Revolution; in 1789 the new Republic confiscated it as a public asset. The Clos nonetheless managed to remain unified for another hundred years, and the grave of the last sole owner, Jules Ouvrard, lies next to the approach to the Château gates. In 1860, the British made an offer to purchase the Clos in its entirety and were summarily refused. Eventually, six owners became fifteen; by 1977, seventy-five proprietors collectively owned 107 separate plots, most less than five acres in size, and many less than one-half acre. The owner of the Château itself, through whose efforts the structure has been restored to pre-1789 condition, is the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, founded in 1934 by Camille Rodier and Georges Faiveley. It is used as the Confrerie's headquarters, and serves as the extraordinary setting for the organization's frequent banquets. The Confrerie holds approximately seventeen of these reunions a year in each of which roughly 500 members participate. Among other activities under its patronage is the annual Tastevinage, a tasting involving 400 to 500 wines presented by their producers which, on the basis of quality, vie for the prestige of being labelled with the Confrerie's numbered label. Upwards of forty percent of the contenders are usually rejected in each vintage. Membership in the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin is international, and of its 8,000 adherents, roughly half reside outside France.
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