Jean-Claude Boisset, Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru

Jean-Claude Boisset, Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru

Vintage: 2020

VintageProduct CodeFormatClosureAvailability
2020BO219B206 x 75ScrewcapAvailable
Producer

Grégory Patriat is the accomplished winemaker at the helm of Nuits-Saint-Georges négociant Jean-Claude Boisset. Previously head viticulturist and assistant winemaker at the legendary Domaine Leroy, Grégory has brought a detailed, vineyard-led approach to Jean-Claude Boisset and produces wines that are truly reflective of their lieu-dits. It is a testament to his skill, that after tasting the 2021 vintage, Jancis Robinson MW wrote that she “was utterly knocked out by the balance and refinement of Grégory Patriat’s wines at J-C Boisset”.

Founded by the Boisset family in 1961, the estate is now based in Les Ursulines, a former convent in Nuits-Saint-Georges that has been converted into a state-of-the-art, gravity-fed winery. Grégory sources fruit from parcels across the Côte d’Or and has very close and long-standing relationships with the growers he works with, monitoring progress throughout the growing season on his regular runs through the vineyards. He determines the harvest dates of each vineyard, with two thirds hand harvested by the Jean-Claude Boisset team, allowing even greater control over quality. Grégory’s knowledge of, and passion for, Burgundy is unrivalled. A member of ‘Les Aligoteurs’, he gets just as excited about his Aligoté ‘Les Moutots’ as he does his trophy-winning Clos de la Roche Grand Cru.

The Jean-Claude Boisset whites are gently whole-bunch pressed, then racked to 450-litre demi-muids for fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Following fermentation, the wines undergo a period of oak ageing, with varying percentages of new oak used depending on the lieu-dit and vintage. The range includes some rare examples of Marsannay Blanc and Fixin Blanc, both hailing from traditionally red wine appellations in the far north of the Côte de Nuits.

The Hautes Côtes de Nuits Blanc is an elegant, perfumed wine from organically farmed 40-year-old vines planted in some of the highest vineyard sites of the Côte. The Meursault ‘Le Limozin’, hails from up to 100-year-old vines in what many refer to as a Meursault ‘2ème Cru’, located immediately below prime 1er Cru ‘Les Genevrières’. The Santenay 1er Cru ‘Passetemps’, which Grégory describes as “a baby Chassagne”, is sourced from two sites on a hillside located just below the 'Clos de Mouches' vineyard.

The reds all undergo cool maceration prior to fermentation with indigenous yeasts, with only a few gentle punch downs in stainless-steel tanks. Again, varying percentages of whole-bunch and new oak are used, depending on the lieu-dit and vintage.

The Chorey-lès-Beaune ‘Les Beaumonts’ hails from vines planted in 1902 and is the oldest parcel that Grégory works with. The berries from these low-yielding bush vines are so small that he refers to them as “Pinot Noir caviar” and believes the wine produced from them could easily be mistaken for a Grand Cru in a blind tasting. The Nuits-Saint-Georges ‘Tribourg’ is made from a lieu-dit just 400 metres from the winery, planted on clay soils peppered with pebbly limestone slope wash. Grégory describes this staggeringly elegant wine as “Chambolle-Musigny in Nuits-Saint-Georges clothing”. Bursting with bright fruit and floral perfumes it is carried by velvety tannins and a vibrant acidity on the palate. The Clos de la Roche is arguably the jewel in the Jean-Claude Boisset crown. It is sourced from 55-year-old vines in the only north-south oriented plot within this Morey-Saint-Denis Grand Cru. Only one barrel is made each vintage, yet it has won the International Wine Challenge ‘Clos de la Roche’ Trophy an astounding five times.

Vineyards

Gevrey-Chambertin covers one of the biggest areas of the Côte de Nuits, with 330 hectares in production, 85 hectares of which cover nine Grand Crus including Charmes-Chambertin. The Grand Cru hills face south-east and begin to the south of Gevrey-Chambertin. Charmes-Chambertin occupies the lowest and most shallow slopes of th Grand Cru belt, close to the border with Morey-Saint-Denis. The thin, pebbly soil of Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru, with a high levels of active limestone, gives gentle long-lived wines of depth and finesse.

Vintage

2020 in Burgundy was characterised by hot and dry conditions, resulting in an early harvest that took place on the 5th September. After a mild spring, temperatures climbed and then remained consistently warm throughout the majority of the summer months, greatly reducing any risk of disease in the vineyard. Unfortunately, with their characteristically thin skins, a portion of the Pinot Noir grapes were affected by sunburn and had to be removed before harvest. However, those that were left were of superb quality, with high colour and aromatic intensity. Grégory Patriat is excited by the potential of the 2020s: “Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential."

Vinification

The hand-harvested grapes were carefully sorted at the vineyard and transferred into ventilated crates for transportation to the winery. Upon arrival, they underwent a second selection process to ensure that only those in pristine condition were used. After sorting, all of the grapes were gravity-fed into tank, where they were destemmed without any crushing. Gravity is used to move the wine around the cellar to avoid damaging the delicate Pinot aromatics. Maceration on the skins lasted 17 days, including four days at a cold 12°C. Fermentation took place, using indigenous yeasts, with three punch downs to further extract flavour and tannins. After fermentation, the wine was racked to 45% new oak, where it continues to age.

Tasting Notes & Technical Details

Alcohol (ABV)

13.5%

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