What does Clos mean? Ex. Chateau Clos St Julien

What does Clos mean? Ex. Chateau Clos St Julien or What does Clos mean? Ex. Chateau Clos St Martin

[David M. Bueker]

Clos in France means a walled vineyard (or walled anything else), and 3 walls must remain standing for a site to retain its Clos designation. This helps keep masons in business.

DIdn't know that thx!

And does that affect the wine?

[David M. Bueker]

DIdn't know that thx!

And does that affect the wine?

In a macro sense it can, but whether it's bad or good depends on many factors.

A walled vineyard may ripen a couple of days earlier, but then in a hot vintage it may be even hotter.

I would never buy a wine just because it came from a clos, but many great wines come from them.

Clos in France means a walled vineyard (or walled anything else), and 3 walls must remain standing for a site to retain its Clos designation. This helps keep masons in business.

And, for the record, Clos still retains its original meaning: cloister. Those walled fields got their name from their resemblance to a cloister.

Mark Lipton

Many of them were, in fact, originally monastic vineyards. The famous Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy, for example.

And Clos de Vougeot is the poster child for "clos" not necessarily indicating quality. The walled vineyard encloses land all the way from the top of the Cote d'Or slope to the flat lands next to Route Nacionale 74. The problem is that the whole vineyard, top to bottom, is classified Grand Cru. The top part--which has other Grands Crus to either side of it--clearly merits that designation. The land to either side of the middle part is classified Premier Cru. And the flat land to either side of the bottom of the Clos de Vougeot is just AOC Vougeot Villages. You can't tell me that, just because it's inside the wall, that flat part of the Clos is suddenly Grand Cru while the land on either side is merely Villages.

To make matters worse, the vineyard land is fragmented among over 80 owners. Hence, it's vitally important with Clos de Vougeot to know who the producer is, and where their vine plots are situated.

-Paul W.

You can't tell me that, just because it's inside the wall, that flat part of the Clos is suddenly Grand Cru while the land on either side is merely Villages.
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Exactly, it clos but not cigar.

I'll get me hat.

3 walls must remain standing for a site to retain its Clos designation. This helps keep masons in business.

Are you sure about that? I've certainly heard somethign similar, but I thought the rule was for Burgundy only, and that vineyards that were historically enclosed also counted (so no need for mason any more). But unfortunately I cannot trace my reference.

Indeed within Burgundy, the clos must be enclosed on three sides by stone masonry. In the Loire the same may apply although vineyards enclosed on all four sides by a terrace system may also use this term. In the rest of France, so long as one can prove that the vineyard was once controlled by the Catholic church, the term clos can be used.

Hie us to California or South America and we will find that the term is rather carelessly applied to not only specific wines but to the names of winery. To the best of my knowledge in Israel only one winery uses the term and that is Clos de Gat, an intentional play on words on the French clos and the antique wine presses (gat found throughout the region (of which both a clos and a gat are found on the winery's property.

Best
Rogov

Back in the day when the monks dominated winemaking in the walled clos, in a very hot and dry growing season the the grapes on the flat part and middle slope might of faired a little better then those on the upper slopes. By blending the grapes from the upper slopes of the walled vineyard with those of the middle slopes and flat part probably made the "best" wine the vineyard could produce. BTW I totally agree with you.

Salute

[David M. Bueker]

3 walls must remain standing for a site to retain its Clos designation. This helps keep masons in business.

Are you sure about that? I've certainly heard somethign similar, but I thought the rule was for Burgundy only, and that vineyards that were historically enclosed also counted (so no need for mason any more). But unfortunately I cannot trace my reference.

Perhaps it is just for Burgundy as my info comes from Allan Meadows.

Back in the day when the monks dominated winemaking in the walled clos, in a very hot and dry growing season the the grapes on the flat part and middle slope might of faired a little better then those on the upper slopes. By blending the grapes from the upper slopes of the walled vineyard with those of the middle slopes and flat part probably made the "best" wine the vineyard could produce. BTW I totally agree with you.

Absolutely true. Following common monastic practice, the monks of the Clos de Vougeot actually made three wines: one for exclusive use by the abbot, one for monks of the order, and one for the novices. I don't remember the French names, but they correspond exactly to the Abtsberg/Herrenberg/Bruderberg division of the Maximin Gruenhaus estate in Germany, which was also originally a monastery. In the case of Clos de Vougeot, the monks blended wines from different parts of the slope, so during dry years the abbot's wine (the part worthy of the grand cru designation) might include wine from the middle and flat parts. That's probably the excuse that was used to designate the whole Clos as grand cru. Anyway, the Cistercian monks certainly knew full well that the wines from the lower slopes and flat part were usually inferior to that from the upper slopes. This is just one of several cases where the AOC regulations, and the fragmented land ownership, lay land mines for the wine consumer.

-Paul W.