The Cistercian monks of the abbey at Cîteaux created the vinyard of Vougeot on the banks of the Vouge in 1100. They planted pinot noir and entrusted the vines’ tending to their lay brethern. The Clos itself takes its’ present name from 1330 when it was walled. During the pontificate of Pope Clément VI (1342-1352), the monks subdivided the Clos into three large ‘climat’ (plots) defining three different wines: “cuvée du pape”, “cuvée du roi”, and “cuvée des moines”. During the revolution, the Rhine Army, led by Colonel Bisson, marched on the prestigious vinyard, and took it in the name of the French state. In 1818 the Clos was aquired by banker Gabriel Julien Ouvrard. In 1889 his inheritors divided the property, selling it piecemeal to some fifteen wine merchants of the region. The partitioning had begun.
Situated in the commune of Vougeot close to the source of the river Vouge, the upper part of this terrain is gravelly and pebbly, the lower part more claylike, however, the soil remains very filtering. The total surface area is approximately 50 hectares, devided into more than 80 separate plots. Domaine Prieuré Rochs’ plot is situated in the “terroir royal” and covers 0.6236 hectares.
THE WINE
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Clos de Vougeot
A powerful, straightforward wine with a cistercien spirit.