Visit to Chateau de la Tour – Tasting the 2022s

Edouard Labet and his father François are making big strides in developing their domaine’s Clos Vougeot portfolio.

Like de Vogüé is doing in Musigny, they are researching and seeking to better understand the inner core of the big Clos de Vougeot vineyard, a daunting – but also necessary – task.

(Just to clarify: I use Clos de Vougeot for the place and Clos Vougeot for the wine. It may not be logical, but at least I’m consistent.)

The Clos de Vougeot is much more complex than originally perceived, as the geology varies significantly and is less uniform than originally believed by the owners of the big clos. A new geological study by Françoise Vannier – completed but not yet published – will apparently show new and somewhat surprising details about the geology of the appellation. Stay tuned for this.

Read more about Chateau de la Tour here:

• Visit to Chateau de la Tour – Tasting the 2022s
• Visit to Chateau de la Tour – Tasting the 2021s
• Visit to Chateau de la Tour – Tasting the 2020s
• Visit to Chateau de la Tour – tasting the 2019s
• Visit to Chateau de la Tour – tasting the 2018s
• Visit Chateau de la Tour – tasting the 2016s from cask
• Terroir Insight: Chateau de la Tour Clos de Vougeot V.V.

Chateau de la Tour: at the core of the clos

Chateau de la Tour is the largest owner of Clos de Vougeot vineyards, with holdings in the centre of this enormous grand cru.

Edouard and François (usually) make three cuvées of Clos Vougeot – the Cuvée Classique; the Cuvée Vieilles Vignes; and in recent exceptional vintages a top wine, the Cuvée Clos Vougeot Hommage a Jean Morin, is made.

Edouard is however also making a slightly rebellious white Vin de France from the core of the Clos de Vougeot vineyard, showing that it can produce an interesting white from the Pinot Gris grapes planted mid-slope.

Chateau de la Tour – a key part of Clos de Vougeot history

Chateau de la Tour is located in the 19th-century castle just below the big, medieval Chateau du Clos de Vougeot. The de la Tour building was erected in 1890, and has been in the Labet family ever since.

It is connected to the main part of de la Tour’s vineyard holdings in the Clos de Vougeot (map below).

Chateau de la Tour owns 5.48 hectares of the clos, with the main section located below the Chateau Clos de Vougeot, oriented north to south, and connected to a 2-ha section in the very centre of the vineyard. There are also two smaller plots at the bottom of the vineyard, and one at the top (recently replanted).

The history of the Chateau de la Tour holdings

Chateau de la Tour’s holdings have been in the family’s possession since 1889, making it one of the oldest of the current owners.

A Mr. Beaudet from Beaune acquired some of the vineyards from the estate of Jules Ouvrard in 1889, when the Clos de Vougeot was divided for the first time after being a monopole for several decades. Amongst the six original buyers were several large negociants, including Liger-Belair and Léonce Bocquet (who also bought the chateau).

Mr. Beaudet had a daughter who married Jean Morin of Nuits-Saint-Georges, and they took over her father’s holdings in the Clos de Vougeot. Jean Morin had two daughters, who married into the Labet and Déchelette families, thus introducing the Labet name into the estate. The Labet family had its own domaine in Beaune, and today François and Edouard Labet are running both Domaine Labet and Chateau de la Tour.

Chateau de la Tour 2022 – the jigzaw puzzle

I was, as always, excited to taste the cuvées from Chateau de la Tour. The regular cuvée – Cuvée Classique – is traditionally made from younger vines which, in this case, are nonetheless fairly old, with an average age of around 70 years. The cuvée Vieilles Vignes is made from vines older than 80 years, and finally Clos Vougeot Hommage a Jean Morin includes a selection from the oldest and best vines.

The world is, however, complex, as there are different plots, different types of oak used (including different barrel ages), different vegetal material, all of which give, if not endless combinations, at least a large number of potential variations on the Clos de Vougeot vineyard.

The plots

The first wine tasted was from plots which form the easternmost two legs, going from the core of the vineyard to the main road (RD974).

These two plots are on the weaker side, and the fruit was de-stemmed. That said, the ’22 wine is organic and lively. There were three barrels of this made – quite a lot compared with many other producers

The second sample was from the top plot, located just south of the Chateau. Planted in 2019, and de-stemmed for the 2022, it produced a vivid, quite delicate wine which will be used for blending, as it does not have the intensity of the big cuvées.

Another plot vinified separately is the Cordon plot in the middle of the older parcels, next to the really old vines. These vines are 70-80 years old, and 35% whole clusters were used. The result is a bit on the austere side, with quite some tannic grip that could be fitted into either the Vieilles Vignes or the Cuvée Classique.

The main sections are all old to very old, with the oldest vines exceeding a century. They are harvested at different times depending on ripeness and vine age. The white section is within this north/south parcel.

The barrels

Edouard uses two coopers – Rousseau and Chassin – choosing both new and old barrels. The domaine has lowered its new oak usage to around 30% for the classic cuvées and 40-45% for the Hommage.

It is too early to evaluate the three cuvées in detail, as tasting the different barrels before final blending reveal stark differences, between Chassin and Rousseau, and between old and new barrels.

As at Marchand–Tawse, the choice of oak has a tremendous influence on the final result. It is complex, and a difficult discipline to master at a big estate like Chateau de la Tour.

The not-so-final cuvées

I have a good idea of the outcome, but will have to wait until the final blending is done.

I have tasted the 2022 barrel samples here twice, and I must say that the elevage has brought the wines more complexity and focus. They are surprisingly elegant, energetic, and delicate for such a big terroir.

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Chateau de la Tour Clos Vougeot Cuvée Classique 2022

The Cuvée Classique is the most complex to evaluate, as more elements are used in it, including the Cordon cuvée that’s next to the old vines. There are also grapes from the different harvest passages. The Cuvée Classique is refined and looks to be well structured with lovely energy. It is of course lighter than the bigger cuvées, but I find this promising. We will have to wait for the final blending to see how the different parts integrate. I would guess that the bottom plots and the newly planted top plot will end up in this cuvée.

Very Fine+ – Tasted 04/07/2023 –

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