Description
The wine
The Clos Vougeot was enclosed by Cistercian monks in the 12th century and has been one of Burgundy’s most storied Grand Crus ever since. At 50 hectares it is also one of the largest — and the most variable. Divided among more than 80 owners, the quality difference between a parcel near the château at the top of the slope and one near the road at the bottom is considerable. The soils, drainage, and exposure all change significantly from one end to the other. Position within the Clos is everything.
Mark Haisma farms a parcel in the upper section — the zone closest to the medieval château, where the soils are thinner, the drainage better, and the concentration more intense than the lower-lying parcels near the road. This is the part of the Clos that produces the most serious wine. He reached this parcel after losing his Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru when the grower decided to sell — the Clos Vougeot was the parcel he found to replace it, and the relationship with this grower has been the basis of the wine since.
The approach is the same as across the entire Haisma range — careful sorting, slow fermentation, gentle handling throughout — but with 18 months in old oak rather than the 12 months used for the village and Premier Cru wines. The extra time in barrel gives the Clos Vougeot the structure and depth a Grand Cru of this quality demands without imposing oak flavour. No new wood.
The 2021 vintage of this wine is also available — a leaner, more precise expression of the same parcel in a cooler year.
Tasting notes
Deep ruby. Black cherry, cassis, a hint of violet and mineral earthiness on the nose — the concentration and depth that the upper section of the Clos Vougeot produces in a warm vintage. The palate has real power and structure with firm tannins, exceptional depth of fruit, and a long mineral finish that reflects the limestone beneath. More brooding and less immediately expressive than the village and Premier Cru wines — this needs time. Decant for at least two hours if opening now. Drink 2027–2040.
Service: 17°C after decanting. Beef in sauce, game birds, roast lamb, aged hard cheeses.
2022 vintage note
2022 was a warm, generous vintage across the Côte de Nuits — excellent growing conditions producing wines of exceptional concentration and depth. For a Grand Cru in the upper section of the Clos Vougeot, the vintage adds natural richness and concentration that fills the wine’s structure without requiring extraction. The 2022 is more immediately generous than the 2021 — but both are wines for the medium to long term.
About Mark Haisma
Mark Haisma is an Australian-born winemaker based in Gevrey-Chambertin since 2007. He trained at Yarra Yering in Victoria before moving to Burgundy, where he built a micro-négociant operation from a rented cellar into one of the most sought-after small productions in the Côte de Nuits.
