It was a crisp spring day in April 2013 when Thibault Gagey and Jacques Lardière set out to survey a well-established vineyard named Résonance. Jacques had just retired after leading winemaking at Maison Louis Jadot for 42 years, and Thibault, whose family has operated Maison Louis Jadot since 1962, was ready to enter the business with a bold new project. They immediately felt a deep connection with the place, and after tasting through dozens of wines made with the vineyard’s fruit, Jacques sat back and said, “Perfect.”
Pierre-Henry Gagey, the President of Maison Louis Jadot and Thibault’s father, agreed. They decided to keep the vineyard’s title, and they also named their new winery—Maison Louis Jadot’s first outside of Burgundy—in its honor. With the same meaning in English and French, Résonance evokes many great things to come. They added the tiny but all-important accent mark to represent this small but special connection between Oregon and France.
Maison Louis Jadot was founded by the Jadot Family in 1859—the same year as the State of Oregon. Nurturing premier and grand cru vineyards in Burgundy, Maison Louis Jadot earned a reputation for world-class wines made in small lots, capturing the attention of Rudy Kopf, an importer for Kobrand Wine & Spirits and the founder of the wine and spirits division of Macy’s department store in New York. In 1945, Rudy made a pilgrimage to visit Maison Louis Jadot, and the long-standing relationship between the Kopf and Jadot Families commenced.
Rudy soon began importing Maison Louis Jadot wines to the U.S., and the partnership continued to blossom through shared investments and appreciation for the next four decades. In 1984, Madam Jadot transferred ownership of the historic wine estate to the Kopf Family.
The relationship between the Gagey Family and Maison Louis Jadot also goes back to the mid-20th Century, when Louis Auguste Jadot invited a young winemaker named André Gagey to join his team of vintners in 1954. André was bestowed the title of President of Maison Louis Jadot when Louis Auguste Jadot passed away in 1962.
With winemaking traditions going back generations on both sides of his family, he worked closely with the Jadot and Kopf Families to build Maison Louis Jadot into the world-class global wine brand it is today. In 1992, Pierre-Henry, André’s son, took over the role of President, and he launched the search for Maison Louis Jadot’s first winery in the New World in the early 2000s. As fortune would have it, Pierre-Henry discovered Résonance Vineyard at the exact moment when the next generation of the Gagey Family, Thibault Gagey, was ready to enter the business. Thibault became the Director of Operations of Résonance in 2013.
Resonance Decouverte Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
The wine reflects a beautiful and brilliant garnet color, with an expressive and complex nose of strawberry, plum, wild cherry, almond and licorice. The wine reveals an elegant palate, vibrant and complex, with delicate notes of noble wood, and very long and mineral finale.
Review:
James Suckling 93 Points
San Giorgio Ugolforte presents a dark core of red and black berry fruit layered with earth, leather, smoke, and herbs. Complex and elegant, the wine is full on the palate and firm in tannin structure. Refreshing acidity frames a graceful finish. Classic Brunello di Montalcino.
This red is marked by cherry, plum, thyme, sage and loam aromas and flavors. Lively and firmly structured, featuring a saline undercurrent. An open-knit version, with nice equilibrium, fine energy and a long, resonant finish.
-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
-Wine Spectator 94 Points
Two Paddocks The Last Chance Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
A beguiling complex nose showing wild thyme, red fruit and a mix of spicy blackberry and plum aromatics. This gives way to a plush fully textured palate weight giving generous amounts of flavor built on an elegant, fresh and feminine framework, great tension and poise.
Review:
This has fantastic concentration and complexity. Earthy notes of bark, dried herbs, salty mushrooms and nori marry ripe red and purple berry fruit. Sleek and refined with well-integrated tannins. There's a peppery freshness shining through. Savory and long.
-James Suckling 96 Points