Jean-Claude Boisset, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

Jean-Claude Boisset, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

Vintage: 2018

VintageProduct CodeFormatClosureAvailability
2018BO214B186 x 75Natural CorkAvailable
Producer

Jean-Claude Boisset is a family-owned wine company founded in 1961, with their first parcel located in Gevrey-Chambertin. Today the company is based in Les Ursulines, a former convent in Nuits-Saint-Georges and is run by brother and sister duo Jean-Charles and Nathalie Boisset. In 2018, they opened a new state-of-the-art winery, reflecting their modern, technical approach to winemaking.

Since 2002, the wines have been made by Grégory Patriat. Previously head viticulturist and assistant winemaker at the legendary Domaine Leroy, Grégory has brought a detailed, vineyard-led approach to Jean-Claude Boisset. This approach is mirrored in Grégory’s winemaking, resulting in wines that reflect their origins with a harmony of freshness and fruit expression. After tasting the 2021 vintage, Jancis Robinson wrote that she “was utterly knocked out by the balance and refinement of Grégory Patriat’s wines at J-C Boisset”.

Today, Grégory makes 45 wines from across the Côte d’Or, working closely with his team of growers throughout the year. He gets just as excited about his plot of Grand Cru ‘Clos de la Roche’ (from which he has been buying fruit since 2002) or his vines in Chambolle-Musigny (which includes a parcel of the Premier Cru ‘Clos de l’Orme’), as he does with his Aligoté, his Fixin Blanc or other lesser-known appellations.

His philosophy is simple: work with old, massal selection vines that produce highly concentrated, low-yielding fruit. In the cellar, he is non-interventionist, preferring to let the fruit express itself. “70-80% of the quality comes from the vineyard,” he says. Vinification for the reds is in large, open-topped oak foudres, while the whites are fermented in Chassin barrels. Since 2007, Grégory has introduced larger 450-litre barrels to reduce the influence of oak.

Grégory’s wines have won no fewer than 74 medals and 13 trophies from prestigious competitions over the past eight years, including the International Wine Challenge ‘Clos de la Roche’ Trophy, which he has won five times.

Vineyards

Nestled between Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-Saint-Denis boasts five Grands Crus. Located at the north of the commune, Clos de la Roche takes its name from a boulder that the Celts used for their rituals. Lying adjacent to the Latricières-Chambertin vineyard, it produces Morey’s most robust wines. This east-facing vineyard is difficult to work, with such stony limestone soil that was considered to be a “back breaker” by the growers of yesteryear. This hard, brown limestone soil yields very firm wines that are well-suited to ageing. The vines are pruned in the Guyot system.

Vintage

The two words to describe the 2018 would be - abundance and excellence. After a winter that was almost too mild, the vintage was notable for two contrasting weather patterns. Spring was sunny and totally devoid of frost, despite some localized episodes of hail, which had a major impact on certain plots on the Côte de Nuits. Then the summer was dry and hot, with some vines suffering stress and shutting down for a brief period. Picking began early, with exceptionally abundant fruit in tip-top condition, offering the potential for some very fine wines.

Vinification

The grapes were hand picked and sorted once at the vineyard and again on the sorting table upon arrival to the winery. The grapes were then destemmed but not crushed, and the whole grapes were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration took a total of 21 days including a cool pre-fermentation maceration on skins for 4 days at 12°C. Only indigenous yeasts were used for fermentation. The wine was aged on its lees for 17 months with no racking, using 100% new French oak barrels, which had been gently toasted.

Tasting Notes & Technical Details

Bright ruby in colour. This Grand Cru exudes intense aromas black fruit, floral notes of peonies and subtle hints of black pepper. The palate reveals a beautiful power with fine but firm tannins, a bright acidity and a beautifully lingering finish.

Alcohol (ABV)

12%

Acidity

5.58 g/l

Residual Sugar

0.6 g/l

pH

3.62

Awards
Silver

International Wine Challenge 2020