• Beaune, Clos du Roi (Premier cru, red) •

Grape variety: Pinot Noir
Age of vines: Replanted in 1986.
Location and soil type: This parcel of brown, stony, clay soil always yields small harvests.
Ageing potential: 8 to 10 years.
Food and wine matching: Venison, wild boar.

Tasting notes:
2006: Colour: Intense garnet red, bright and clear. Nose: Discreetly fruity at first, then opens to reveal notes of vanilla, oak and raspberries. Palate: Fresh and fruity, with good length and agreeable tannins. Persistent in the mouth, with complex fruit flavors of raspberry and blackcurrant. Hold for 3-5 years. – Le point spécial vins 2008; revue Vinum December 2008.

2005: Colour: garnet. Nose: fruity, fine and complex, with cherries, raspberries and blackcurrants, hint of vanilla. Palate: concentrated fruit, long and rich, with supple tannins and a fruity and lightly spicy finish. Ready to drink, but will improve over the next two years.

2004: ”Rich garnet color. On the nose, odors of ripe black fruits and blackberry liqueur. Round and fruity on the palate, there is a light tannic bite to the wine, with a finish that lasts and lasts” (bottled in February 2006).

About Beaune, Clos du Roi:
The Beaune vignoble covers 407 hectares. This makes it the third largest on the Côte d’Or, behind Gevrey-Chambertin and Meursault. There is a total of 42 climats classed as premier cru. The majority of the Beaune wines are red, but there is a small portion – around 13 percent of the annual production – that is white.

Clos du Roi is at the northern end of the Beaune appellation, bordering on Savigny les Beaune. The ownership of this medium sized premier cru – 8.41 hectares –  is shared between about 20 different owners, all but one making red Clos du Roi.

You'll find Clos du Roi at the northern end of the town of Beaune, just behind the Collège Monge. It is surrounded by the premier crus Les Marconnets and En Genêt to the west and Blanche Fleur to the east.