As usual, Raphet's "regular" Clos Vougeot – reflecting the estate's largest cru surface area – was diffuse and not terribly distinguished, whereas a 2006 Clos Vougeot Vieilles Vignes – the sixth successive bottle of fruit...
As usual, Raphet's "regular" Clos Vougeot – reflecting the estate's largest cru surface area – was diffuse and not terribly distinguished, whereas a 2006 Clos Vougeot Vieilles Vignes – the sixth successive bottle of fruit from their oldest and best-placed vines – is impressive, if rather austere. (At around 115 cases, this represents the largest volume in which this cuvee has yet been produced.) Singed meat, bitter-sweet black fruits, and chalk are present already in the nose, and follow onto a palate of palpable density and suffused with fine, firm tannins. This finishes with formidable force and grip, yet without any sense of weight. It should be worth following for at least the better part of a decade but deserves to be left alone for the next several years. - David Schildknecht