Domaine De La Vougeraie Vougeot 'Les Cras' 1er Cru 2022

Domaine de la Vougeraie, based in Premeaux just south of Nuits St Georges, was created in 1999 when Jean-Claude Boisset of the Boisset group decided to group together all the vineyard holdings of his various negociant companies acquired over the years. The name comes from the significant holdings – and indeed Jean-Claude Boisset’s home – in the village of Vougeot. The winery is located however in the old Claudine Deschamps (Madame Jean-Claude Boisset) cellars in Prémeaux. The Domaine was put together from the various vineyard holdings which had accrued through the Boisset acquisitions of Burgundian houses over the years. Pascal Marchand was put in charge in 1999, with Bernard Zito in the vineyards, which were farmed biodynamically. Pascal produced powerful wines, fairly heavily extracted in his early vintages but clearly was subsequently moving to a softer approach by 2004.

The word Cras (or Crâs) is common throughout the Côte de Beaune, found in Chambolle-Musigny, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Pommard and Meursault. Crai or Crais other are common forms of the same root, all referring to stony, calcareous plots, with pebbles atop clayey soil.

This climat shares its history with the Clos de Vougeot. The monks of the nearby Abbey of Notre-Dame de Cîteaux planted their vines here in around 1110, just a few years after the Abbey was founded, and indeed the vineyard belonged to the Abbey until it was sold off under the French Revolution.

Les Cras is one of the four Premiers Crus in the Vougeot appellation. The name of the Domaine de la Vougeraie is derived from Vougeot and the Vouge, the small stream flowing through the village.