| Country: | France |
| Region: | Burgundy |
| Winery: | Louis Jadot |
| Grape Type: | Chardonnay |
| Vintage: | 2020 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Vaillons Premier Cru is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Chablis achieves its highly distinctive mineral character due to its cool northerly climate and its highly calcareous soil. The Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Vaillons Premier Cru is a generous, fleshy and lively wine that displays a beautiful balance of minerality, fruitiness and elegance.
Chablis, with its steely character and fresh citrus flavor, pairs well with white fish and shellfish and its naturally high acidity can counterbalance cream-based sauces. Unoaked Chablis lends itself well to vegetables, starches, Comté, or fresh goat cheese.
Chavy-Chouet Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Folatieres is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Les Folatieres is among the most celebrated Premier Cru climats of Puligny-Montrachet, climbing a steep, mid-slope incline of thin, marly limestone with the bedrock never far below the surface. In the cellar of Domaine Chavy-Chouet in Meursault it becomes a benchmark white Burgundy, drawn from vines of around fifty years.
Fermented on native yeasts and raised a year in French oak with a fifth new, it is concentrated yet precise, layering ripe citrus and orchard fruit over flint and crushed stone, with the drive, depth and long, saline finish that reward a few years in the cellar.
Boussey Monthelie Blanc Premier Cru Sur La Velle is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
The name Monthelie comes from Mont Lyoei, mountain of Bacchus. The "Sur la Velle" plot is located on the eastern edge of Monthélie. It borders the Volnay Clos des Chênes Premier Cru to the east. The vineyards here lie on broadly southeast facing slopes with just enough gradient to achieve good drainage.
The Monthelie Blanc Premier Cru Sur La Velle has a beautiful pale yellow color with green reflections.
It is complex and rich with delicious aromas of white flowers, fresh almonds, lemon and minerality.
The finish is long with a very good balance between the excellent ripeness and the perfect amount of acidity.
We recommend this wine with white meat, fish and seafood.
Boussey Monthelie Rouge Premier Cru Sur La Velle is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
The grapes for this wine are coming from the parcel located in Monthelie, on the plateau right next to Volnay. They usually produce balanced wines, with a lot of freshness and elegance.
The wine displays aromas of red fruits, with floral notes (violet) and spice. After cellaring for a couple of years, the wine will develop some secondary aromas with truffle and forest flavors.
Delicious with game terrine, sirloin steaks and strong cheese.
Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Aux Boudots is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Domaine Jean Grivot is among the great names in Burgundian wine. Étienne Grivot and his wife Marielle took over from Étienne’s father Jean Grivot in 1987. The vineyards are densely planted and farmed organically “sans certification” while the aim in the cellar is for balance and clear expression of terroir.
Jean Grivot’s 38.3 acres spread across 22 appellations with vineyards in the communes of Vosne-Romanée, Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny, and Nuits-Saint-Georges. Besides the three grand crus, there are 8 premier crus including the much lauded Les Beaux Monts and Suchots in Vosne-Romanée. The grapes are completely de-stemmed and fermentation is spontaneous.
Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Boudots 1er cru lies in the “Zone Vosnoise” or northern end of Nuits-Saint-Georges just below Les Damodes. It borders Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er just to its north. Its position slightly lower on the slope with deep soil full of pebbles results in a richer and fuller wine.
The grapes are destemmed and maceration à froid usually lasts just a day or two. The alcoholic fermentation is spontaneous and malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel. Depending on the vintage, the proportion of new oak is around 30-60% for the premier crus.
The wine shows aromas and flavors of red berries, herbs, and purple flowers. The palate is rich with ripe fruit and medium weight with bright acidity and fine tannins. Aging in 30-60% new Burgundian pièce brings notes of vanilla, toast, and baking spices.
Red Burgundy might be the world’s most flexible food wine. The wine’s high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, and low tannins make it very food-friendly. Red Burgundy, with its earthy and sometimes gamey character, is a classic partner to roasted game birds, grilled duck breast, and dishes that feature mushrooms, black truffles, or are rich in umami.
Review:
-Jasper Morris MW 95 Points
-Neal Martin 95 Points
-Decanter 94 Points
-Burghound 92 Points
Bachelet Bertrand Chassagne Montrachet Blanc Premier Cru Morgeot is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
The Chassagne-Montrachet appellation is located in the southern part of the Côte de Beaune and produces mainly white wines. 'Morgeot' is located in the south of the village, characterized by compact limestone soil containing iron oxide, which gives the soil its particular red-brown color.
The wine offers a golden color, a subtle nose of white flowers and honey notes. Full-bodied and well-structured on the palate.
The softness of the Chardonnay on the palate makes an interesting pairing with cooked foie gras; it also sits well with lobster, spiny lobster, or even morel mushroom dumplings or Bresse chicken in a cream sauce.
Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne Premier Cru is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Generous yet elegant, with peach and almond, fruity and oaky aromas and flavors. This wine will develop for 10 to 15 years in the bottle.
Pair with fish, shellfish or pasta in cream sauces, pâté de foie gras and cheeses such as Munster and Comté.
Frédéric Barnier joined Maison Louis Jadot in 2010 as Technical Director, working under the guidance of Jacques Lardière. For 42 years, the legendary Lardière was responsible for the winemaking and bottling of all Maison Louis Jadot wines, and he is considered to be one of Burgundy’s finest winemakers. He briefly retired, then came out of retirement to launch Resonance Wines, Jadot’s new brand from Oregon. Frédéric now leads the winemaking team with the Maison Louis Jadot philosophy: no compromise on quality.
Maison Louis Jadot was founded in 1859 by the man whose name it bears, Louis Henry Denis Jadot. The first of his family arrived in Beaune from Belgium in 1794 and soon began purchasing Premier and Grand Cru vineyards. With grape growing a part of his heritage, Louis Henry set about gaining experience first in the cellars, in the evaluation of wines, and then in the vineyards, in the study of viticulture.
Jadot invests in Burgundy, only purchasing grapes from the highest quality producers where they have a relationship and vinifying the wine on-site rather than buying ready-made wines.
For its Beaujolais and Mâconnais wines, Jadot practices a further, though expensive, practice called réplis, in which wines of a higher appellation are incorporated into a wine bearing the appellation below them. Thus, for example, Jadot’s Beaujolais-Villages will customarily contain a percentage of wines from Beaujolais crus.
Maison Louis Jadot’s principles of vinification balance tradition and technology, and focus on the purest expression of each wine’s terroir, taking the lightest possible hand in winemaking and a restrained use of oak maturation. For its village level Côte d’Or wines, Jadot practices a further, though expensive, practice called réplis, in which wines of a higher appellation are incorporated into a wine bearing the appellation below them.
Jadot’s cellar practices, including long macerations, the choice of wild yeast when possible for fermentation, fermentation temperature and other winemaking methods are also designed to preserve the character of the fruit in the wines. For both red and white wines, Maison Louis Jadot places great importance on the restrained use of new oak in the aging process. Time in cask and percentage of new oak is dictated differently by each vintage. In keeping with its non-interventionist philosophy, Jadot considers that very great vintages, complete and harmonious by themselves, require minimum contact with new oak.
In 1970, aware that Maison Louis Jadot’s future growth lay in its increasing role as owner-producer, Gagey engaged Jacques Lardière, a brilliant young enologist, as his assistant and eventual technical director. Lardière, now retired, is today acknowledged as one of Burgundy’s finest winemakers, an artist with the reins of nature in one hand and those of technology in the other. In 1984, André Gagey’s son, Pierre-Henry Gagey, joined the firm. He had a strong background in business administration and management, and an inherited knowledge of wines. In February of 1985, the négociant firm of Maison Louis Jadot was purchased by the owners of Kobrand Corporation, sole United States importer of Jadot Burgundies since 1945. In 1991, Pierre-Henry Gagey assumed the position of President, and in 2012 upon Lardière’s retirement, promoted Frederic Barnier to succeed him.
As Louis Henry traveled he acquired a faithful clientele, and in 1859 purchased the respected négociant firm of Lemaire-Fouleux and gave the firm his name. After his death, his son, Louis Baptiste Jadot, enthusiastically carried on the work his father had begun. He expanded his export markets as well as his clientele in France, reinvesting his profits in the acquisition of vineyards in some of the finest and most famous Grands Crus and Premiers Crus of the Côte d’Or.
In 1939, Louis Baptiste Jadot died and left control of the firm to his eldest son, Louis Auguste Jadot, who had assisted in the direction of the business under his father since 1931. He opened and greatly developed the new export market of the United States, as well as those of Great Britain, Holland, South America and New Zealand.
In 1954, André Gagey joined Maison Louis Jadot as assistant to Louis Auguste Jadot. When Louis Auguste Jadot died in 1962, survived only by his wife, André Gagey was appointed managing director of the firm. He had full responsibility for its operations, under Mme. Jadot’s ownership and direction. As managing director, Gagey was for nearly three decades responsible for the final decisions over selection and purchase of all grapes and wines bottled under the Jadot label, as well as the care and maintenance of the vineyards within the Jadot estate.
Silver Oak Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 81.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.8% Merlot, 1.8% Petit Verdot, 1.4% Cabernet Franc, 0.4% Malbec.
Ruby in color, the 2020 Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a harmony of black and blue fruit notes that dance delicately on the palate. Plum and blueberry intertwine with whispers of baking spices, creating a tapestry of flavors that unfold in layers of complexity. On the palate, it is a study in elegance—smooth and effortlessly refined. Silky tannins provide structure without imposing, ensuring a seamless journey from the first sip to the last.
Review:
-James Suckling 95 Points
Luis Canas Reserva Seleccion de la Familia is made from 85% Tempranillo and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The family reserve from one of Rioja Alavesa's most enduring family-run wineries, drawn from a selection of old-vine grapes chosen for good orientation, sun exposure and poor soils that keep yields low. It is one of very few Riojas to blend Cabernet Sauvignon with Tempranillo — Bodegas Luis Canas was granted permission by the D.O.Ca. to plant the variety as an experiment in the early 1980s.
Brilliant garnet with cherry hints at the rim. A complex nose of very ripe berry fruit, smoky notes, raisin and liqueur, opening with air to cinnamon, jam and, in time, roasted and spiced aromas. The palate is full, with a good presence of tannins offset by a glycerine-like, fleshy character; long, lingering finish.
Winemaking: 72-hour cold maceration, fermentation at 26°C in sealed cement tanks under thermal control with daily pump-overs; spontaneous malolactic after devatting by gravity. Aged 20 months in 50% medium-toast American and 50% French oak, then clarified with a little natural egg white, decanted, and bottled unfiltered under the highest-quality corks.
Review:
"Made from Tempranillo and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2020 Rioja Reserva Seleccion de la Familia is supple, textured, and complex, with an unmistakable herbaceous note…"
- Jeb Dunnuck, 93 points