Louis Jadot 2015 En Primeur Tasting

This year TFB went along to the annual Louis Jadot 2015 En Primeur Tasting with one aim, to taste every single wine and then to select those they deemed to be the best in the line up. Now with just over sixty wines this was not going to be a walk in the park, but we were determined that we were going to do it. With pens poised, glass in hand and palate at the ready, we were off!

 

 

WHITES

Saint-Romain – a small appellation of 96 hectares, located next to Auxey-Duresses. The vineyards are quite high and steep with south to south-east exposition, producing both white and red wines.
Tasting Notes: Lots of lemon and a hint of yeast on the palate with lots of lemon and lime fruit flavours. Nice acidity and a good length. 17.0+

 

Santenay “Clos de Malte” – The southernmost commune of the Côte d’Or lying below the communes of Chassagne-Montrachet, Saint-Aubin and Dezize-les-Maranges.  The Clos de Malte is situated in the western area of the commune on the upper part of the slope at the base of the En La Fee vineyard and surrounded by the Montagne des Triois Croix which was once frequented by the druids. A vineyard with atmosphere and harmony!
Tasting Notes: Highly perfumed on the nose with hints of lychee and lemon and lots of toasty oak character. Big fruit on the palate, good weight and balance. 17.25

 

Pernand-Vergelesses “Les Combottes”  – a south-west facing vineyard in the middle of the hill, Les Combottes nestles in the heart of a small valley. A part of the vineyard was replanted in the spring of 2013 and will go into production in a few years. The other part is around 35 years old.
Tasting Notes: Lemon and melon with hints of gooseberry and nettle. Good weight but it has a slightly dry edge of lemon fruit on the finish. 17.0

 

Savigny-Les-Beaune “Clos des Guettes” – it accounts for 380 hectares and produces approximately 12,500 hectolitres annually, of which only 4% is white. There are 22 Premier Crus covering 144 hectares.
Tasting Notes: A big wack of juicy lemon, richness and fresh acidity with a nice bit of integrated oak. A little bit dry on the finish but only short term as oak holding the fruit back a bit but this will integrate more in time. A green tea finish to the wine. 17.5++

 

Beaune Bressandes – The vineyards of Les Bressandes are at the top of the Baune slope situated above Les Toussaints and Les Cents Vignes and next to Les Greves, produce both red and white wines. It’s lesser known white wines are considered to be one of the finest white Premier Crus.
Tasting Notes: This is a big wine with loads of fruit and highly toasted oak making it really creamy with bundles on the palate. The fruit is green almost gooseberry and lemon spice. Good acidity, great balance and a powerful finish. 18.0+

 

Beaune Greves – The vineyard of Les Greves is situated adjacent to Les Theurons. These two vineyards are the largest appellations of the Beaune Premiers Crus and Les Greves is the largest at 34 hectares in size. Although all the Premier Cru vineyards of Beaune are entitled to produce white as well as red wines, Les Greves is one of the few to yield a white wine equal in status and quality to its red.
Tasting Notes: Slightly tight nose with sherbet and mineral notes. On the palate flintiness with good weight of fruit and texture. Loads of lemon and lime with a slightly shorter finish than expected with lemon on the end. 17.5

 

Meursault “Les Tillets” – Meursault is the centre of the four communes (Meursault, Blagny, Chassagne and Puligny) comprising that part of the Côte de Beaune known as the Côte des Blancs, named for the quality and predominance of its white wines. Meursault Les Tillets is a site located almost at the top of one of the two hills of Meursault, close to the Narvaux vineyard.
Tasting Notes: Big spicy nose draws you in, hints of marzipan and good fruit weight and texture, the acidity seems a little soft with loads of oakyness on the finish which is quite dry. In my mind not enough fruit. 17.0

 

 

Meursault-Blagny – The Premier Cru Meursault-Blagny appellation applies to white only and encompasses the production of four vineyards covering 23.5 hectares at the far south-west corner of Meursault which are shared, for classification purposes, with the commune of Blagny at the top of the slopes.
Tasting Notes: Rather tight, lemon and spicy oak on the nose. A nice mouthfeel with the oak being dominant at present, loads of lemon coming through and rich toastyness. A little bit lacking in fruit. 17.25

 

Meursault Porusot – This 20 year old vineyard was bought by Maison Louis Jadot in 1996 and are spread over gentle slopes, between 230 and 360 metres above sea level. The eastern orientation is ideal, allowing maximum sunlight.
Tasting Notes: Quite perfumed on the nose with a cream oakness. Lots of fruit on the palate with a bit of oak and tannin. Nice balance although a little bit simple at present. 17.0

 

 

Meursault Perrieres – The Premier Cru Meursault Perrieres appellation applies to white wines only and is located next to Meusault Blagny. The wine is aged for 15 to 18 months in oak barrels, resulting ina well-structured cuvee, with good balance and ripe fruit flavours.
Tasting Notes: Big voluptuous nose and lots of juicy fruit and lemon perfume. Big and balanced and really juice with great length. 19.0

 

Puligny Montrachet – Grapes for this wine came mainly from the La Garenne parcel that lies near Champ Gain next to Blagny. The vines are planted on chalky soil.
Tasting Notes: Big juicy nose, quite perfumed and aromatic with underlying tones of lychee and hay. Nice weight of fruit big oak and acidity nice mouthfeel, bit green tea on the finish which is the only negative! 17.0

 

Puligny Montrachet “Les Referts” – The Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts is adjacent to the commune of Meursault to the north, and directly below the named vineyards of Les Combettes and Close de la Garenne. The clay and chalk soil, which is very stony, drains well and warms through easily.
Tasting Notes: Big and buttery yet elegant and creamy. Nice mouthfeel and load and loads of complexity – WOW.  Lots of everything oak, tannin, vanilla toast, plums and lemon. Very elegant. 19.0+

 

Puligny Montrachet “Clos de la Garenne” Domaine Duc de Magenta – Clos de La Garenne lies close to La Folatiere and Les Referts, roughly midway between Meursault and Montrachet. The soils are chalky with medium density. Quite steely flint on the nose with a touch of coffee.
Tasting Notes: Big powerful and beautiful mouthfeel. A hint of plum, a little lemon with big on acidity with great, huge, long length – STUNNING. 19.5+

 

 

Puligny Montrachet “Les Combettes” – situated close to Les Referts on the edge of the Meursault vineyards to the east. Is soils are not very deep, with little stones, which provides for good drainage and allows them to heat up easily. With its composition of chalk and clay they do not keep a lot of acidity.
Tasting Notes:  Slightly musty not very attractive on the nose. Mouthfeel is really good, may be better later will keep an eye. 17.0+

 

Chassagne Montrachet “Morgeot” Clos de La Chapelle, Domaine duc de Magenta – The Clos de La Chapelle covers 4.5 hectares in the Cru Abbaye de Morgeot and is solely owned by the Magenta family, of which 1.79 hectares are planted with Chardonnay.
Tasting Notes:  Hints of green pepper with a little bit of leek and lots of fruit and fine acidity. Seems quite delicate and minerally, with lots of lemon essence and oak with great length. 18.5

 

Chassagne Montrachet “Grande Montagne” – Situated in the south of the Côte de Beaune, Chassagne Montrachet is one of the 5 villages of the prestigious Côte des Blancs. La Grande Montagne is situated on a slope of clay and calcarous soils at the south of the commune, not very far from Les Caillerets, Grand Ruchottes and La Romanee.
Tasting Notes:   Lots of mineral and lemon with a hint of leek. Big mouthfeel and nice power and weight. Juicy and developed a little fat on the palate. 18.75

 

Chassagne Montrachet “Cailleret” – The Cailleret vineyards lie at the north-western end of the commune

bordering Champ Gain. At an altitude varying from 250m to 350m, it benefits from exposures ranging from east to south and southwest.
Tasting Notes: Concentrated and oaky, slight hint of veg, but not bad. Big fruit and powerful long length and acidity. Some fruit and almost brussel sprouts – not bad. 18.0-

Chassagne Montrachet “Clos Saint-Jean” – This Premier Cru is ideally located on soft, deep soils, north of the village. This clos is one of the oldest in Burgundy and definitely contributed to the great reputation of Chassagne-Montrachet.

Tasting Notes:  Big up-front nose almost wet paper with a hint of must. Powerful fruit on palate, big juicy and lots of length. Power and delicacy. 18.5+

 

Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru – Domaine des Heritiers Louis Jadot owns an exceptional 2 hectares south facing plot acquired in 1914. It yields a benchmark Corton-Charlemagne for which Louis Jadot is famous.
Tasting Notes: This was slightly restrained, very clean and very voluptuous on the palate. Tight on the nose, but on the palate loads of fruit and acidity lots of length and incredibly elegant. 19.5

 

 

Batard Montrachet – Batard Montrachet is generally ranked as third in stature among these Grands Crus; its ownership is extremely piecemeal the largest holding totalling 1.9 hectares.
Tasting Notes: Toasty but tight flint came out after a minute very juicy fruit, beautiful mouthfeel and great length – very concentrated and elegant. 19.5+

 

Chevalier Montrachet “Les Demoiselles” – Within this Grand Cru climat is Les Demoiselles (young ladies) vineyard a 1.28 hectare parcel which was purchased in 1794 by the first member of Louis Henry Denis Jadot’s family to arrive in Beaune from Belgium.  It remained among the Louis Jadot properties until 1887, when, due to a deed of division, it passed out of the family’s hands.  Several years later it was re-acquired through a joint-purchase effort initiated by Domaine des Heritiers Louis Jadot and Domaine Louis Latour, who today remain equal owners of Les Demoiselles.
Tastings Notes: Tight nose but big weight and lovely mouthfeel.  Lots of acidity and huge amounts of fruit, with plums and lemons and lime with hints of lychees –  Absolutely beautifully elegant.  19.5

 

REDS

Beaujolais

Chateau des Jacques “Clos de Rochegres” Moulin a Vent – Maison Louis Jadot bought the Chateau des Jacques estate in 1996. It is situated in Moulin a Vent, between Fleurie and Chenas and has 28.78 hectares of Mouline a Vent vineyards. Of this there are 6 individual clos which cover an average of 19.5 hectares. The Moulin A Vent is now referred to as the King of Beaujolais and is considered to be the most Burgundian Cru of Beaujolais.
Tasting Notes: Green pepper and spice on the nose with dominant acidity which is not so attractive. Loads of fruit buy not yet balanced. 16.0

 

Chateau des Jacques “Clos du Grand Carquelin” Moulin a Vent – The soil of Clos du Carquelin is quite light, made up of sand and a little bit of clay, lying on a bedrock high in manganese. This helps give the wine its deep colour. The vineyard covers 4 hectares.
Tasting Notes: Nice juicy fruit with white pepper and some spice. Hints of berry fruit on both the nose and palate with a fair amount of tannins but finishing quite juicy. 17.5

 

Chateau des Jacques “La Rochelle” Moulin a Vent – La Rochelle is located in the heart of Moulin a Vent between Roche, the Clos du Grand Carquelin and the Clos de Rochegres. Its vines are planted in shallow soils composed of metamorphic granitic sands criss-crossed by very ancient seams of granite.
Tasting Notes: Juicy, soft and slight violet on the nose. Soft and juicy with lots of fruit and spice and acidity, slight meaty character on the middle palate with good length and finish. 18.0+

 

Chateau des Jacques “Côte du Py”  Morgon – Morgon is one of the 10 Crus of the Beaujolais. The production area of Morgon is about 1,100 hectares (2,750 acres) located on a granite and schist soil.  Louis Jadot own a number of vineyard sites in Morgon which are carefully managed in an environmentally susainable manner to produce some of the very best Morgons.
Tasting Notes: Lots of fruit, plum and raspberry. Soft full fruit on the palate with nice tannins and great length, spice and meat on the finish. 18.0-

 

Santenay “Clos de Malte” – Santenay is the southern most commune of the Côte d’Or lying below the communes of Chassagne Montrachet, Saint Aubin and Dezize les Maranges. The vineyard is a 7 hectare monopole (sole owner) of Domaine Louis Jadot. With the exception of 1.5 hectares of Chardonnay the vineyard is planted entirely with Pinot Noir.
Tasting Notes: Very pale in colour almost pink. On the nose it doesn’t give much away, very tight. On the palate again it is tight but giving a little vegetal and even toffee on the mid-palate! 16.0

 

Savigny Les Beaune “La Dominode” – Savigny Les Beaune lies between Beaune and Pernand and is the third in size behind Beaune and Pommard in production of red wine in the Côte de Beaune although its vineyards, both at the Village and Premier Cru levels, may produce white wines under the Savigny and Savigny Premier Cru appellations.
Tasting Notes: A hint of meat on the nose with some toasty notes and ‘bonfire’ nuances. Bit rounder on the palate with hints of veg, but nice fruit and a good finish. 16.5

 

Monthelie “Les Vignes Rondes” – Situated between the more well known villages of Volnay and Meursault the village of Monthelie produces some great value Burgundy. Les Vignes Rondes is a south-east facing, 2 hectare vineyard located above Champ Fulliot.
Tasting Notes: Slightly vegetal on the nose with a hint of mint. Big fruit on the palate with some hard tannins. 17.0

 

 

Beaune Theurons – Beaune vineyards are the most extensive of the Côte de Beaune, between Savigny to the North and Pommard to the South. There are no Grand Cru vineyards in this commune but 36 Premiers Crus. The vineyards in Beaune are mainly on the slopes which is why so many make Premier Cru status. Les Theurons consists of four parcels descending the slope above the city of Beaune and is generally considered to be a quintessential Premier Cru, one of the dozen or so finest in the commune.
Tasting Notes: Lovely richness with a hint of vegetables and spice. Powerful fruit on the palate, rich and tannic, good length and long finish. 17.75

 

Beaune “Boucherottes” – The Boucherottes vineyard lies at the southern end of the commune, partially bordering Pommard. It is superbly situated just below Les Chouacheux and Vignes Franches and between Clos des Mouches and Les Epenotes on the lower portion of the slope. It covers slightly more than 8.5ha and is generally considered to be among the ten best Premiers Crus of Beaune.
Tasting Notes: Juicy fruit, perfumed and quite rich on the nose and great fruit on the palate, spicy and long in length.  A bit of a tannic gap on the end, very forward nose, but quite tight on the palate. 17.5-

 

Beaune “Aux Cras” – The Aux Cras vineyard is located on a steep, south-east oriented slope, at an altitude of 260 metres. The soil is very stony – as its name suggests derived frm ‘Cras’ a former quarry.
Tasting Notes: A little bit meaty, but quite a pretty nose. Lots of juicy fruit but with underlying tannins, quite approachable now, with lots of strawberry fruit on the end. 17.75

 

Beaune “Clos des Ursules” – The Clos des Ursules is a 2.15 hectare enclave purchased by Louis Henry Denis Jadot in 1826, which has remained a solely owned property of the Jadot family ever since. It is the jewel of the Domaine des Heritiers Louis Jadot portfolio, producing a wine of consistent excellence which for the characteris delicacy and suppleness of Vignes Franches, shows striking tannin and dimension.
Tasting Notes: Spicy cinnamon and meaty nose, on the palate loads of fruit and power. Utterly LUSH fruit with great tannin and amazing length. 18.5+

 

 

Volnay Santenots – Volnay lies roughly in the centre of the Côte de Beaune, bordered by Pommard to the north-east, Monthelie to the west and Meursault to the south. The south-easterly exposed vineyards produce only red wines, all 26 of which are Premier Crus.
Tasting Notes: Strawberry, perfume and spice on the nose, lots of fruit on the palate with balanced tannin, yet on the finish there is a big chunk of tannin.

 

Pommard “Grands Epenots” – This 10.15ha vineyard occupys the best land on the Beaune side of the commune, with Grands Epenots being closest to the village. The slope here is very gentle but the presence of pebbles in the soil ensures good drainage and contributes to the considerable elegance which you would find in a good Epenots once it has softened up.
Tasting Notes: Hints of redcurrant with lots of raspberry and smoky oak on the nose. Loads of fruit on the palate, spicy and meaty with good acidity and tannins. 17-