Vintage: 2020

VintageProduct CodeFormatClosureAvailability
2020BO224B206 x 75Natural CorkAvailable
Vegan
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

Chambolle-Musigny is one of the smallest and most parcellated appellations of the Côte de Nuits whose Grand Crus are among Burgundy's rarest and most collectable wines. Boisset's Village Chambolle comes from massale selected vines from five 'lieux dits' located around the village, including 'Les Pas de Chats', 'Derrière le four', 'Les Danguerrins' and the famed 'Clos de l'Orme', which many growers believe to be as good as their Premier Cru sites. Boisset's Chambolle vines have been farmed organically since 2009. The vines have an average age of 47 years. The soils are very infertile and their base of hard limestone, topped by a thin layer of Bathonian limestone, ensures good soil drainage and contributes to the precise, sensual character of their Chambolle. Production is very small; Boisset produces just 2000-2800 bottles of Chambolle Village depending on the vintage.

Vintage

2020 in Burgundy was characterised by hot and dry conditions, resulting in an early harvest that took place on the 7th 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 again on arrival at the winery, to ensure that only those in pristine condition were used. After sorting, 80% of the bunches were destemmed and gravity-fed into small stainless-steel vats, without any crushing. 20% of the remaining whole bunches underwent a 16-day maceration on their skins, including five days at a cold 12°C, before the entire crop underwent fermentation with indigenous yeasts at controlled temperatures. After fermentation, the wine was racked to 33% new oak, where it spent 11 months before bottling in September 2021.

Tasting Notes & Technical Details

Garnet in colour with hints of purple, the nose exhibits complex aromas of blackberries, violets, spice and toasty notes. On the palate, it has a lovely mouthfeel, while still fresh and delicately scented, with more pronounced tannins evident on the long, structured finish.

Alcohol (ABV)

14%

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