Dom. de la Vougeraie
Les Cras 1er Cru
Vougeot
2019

The producer

La Vougeraie is the largest wine producer in Burgundy and was created by Jean-Charles Boisset from the Boisset estate, with the aim to produce wines which would be able to compete with the stars of Burgundy.

Assembling the best 37-plus hectares throughout the Cote d’Or and hiring the talented Pascal Marchand (Comte Armand), La Vougeraie immediately made waves with impressive wines from the winery in Premeaux-Prissey. From this central location they create fabulous wines from Grand Crus spread from Gevrey-Chambertin to Puligny-Montrachet. The estate vineyards are farmed to organic principles including ploughing by horse and restricting yields to produce the best fruit possible. Concentrated fruit and a high level of new oak result in rich, plush wines of undisputed quality. Smart marketing, and simple, elegant labelling stands La Vougeraie out from the crowd.

Boisset is achieving his aim as La Vougeraie is one of the current stellar estates of Burgundy. La Vougeraie produces some outstanding wines from Corton, Vougeot and  Chambolle Musigny, especially from both the Musigny and Bonnes Mares vineyards.

The wine

Domaine de la Vougeraie’s Les Cras 1er Cru 2019 from Vougeot is an exceptional vintage that highlights the unique qualities of this Premier Cru vineyard. The 2020 growing season in Burgundy was marked by warm and dry conditions, which led to early ripening and resulted in grapes with intense concentration and ripe tannins. This wine, made from Pinot Noir, showcases the depth and elegance that the Les Cras vineyard is known for. In the glass, it presents a vibrant ruby color and an expressive bouquet of red and dark berries, such as cherry and blackberry, intertwined with floral notes, subtle spices, and a touch of earthy minerality. On the palate, the wine is well-structured, with a harmonious balance of ripe fruit, fresh acidity, and fine-grained tannins, giving it both richness and finesse. The 2020 Les Cras 1er Cru is approachable in its youth, offering immediate pleasure, but it also has the potential to age gracefully, developing greater complexity over time. This vintage is a testament to Domaine de la Vougeraie’s commitment to biodynamic practices and their meticulous attention to detail in both the vineyard and the cellar, resulting in a wine of outstanding quality and character.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.