Jean-Claude Boisset, Beaune 1er Cru `Les Grèves`

Jean-Claude Boisset, Beaune 1er Cru `Les Grèves`

Vintage: 2020

VintageProduct CodeFormatClosureAvailability
2020BO238B206 x 75Natural CorkSold Out
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

In Old French, “Grèves” referred to sandy soil that was well adapted to viticulture. The 30-hectare `Les Grèves` vineyard is assuredly one of Beaune’s best-known Premiers Crus and is located on an east-facing slope, with 0.88 hectares under vine. Soils here consist of stone and sand which retain both good levels of heat and moisture over the crucial growing season. The vines are 70 years old on average and are pruned using the Guyot system, producing yields of around 29 hectolitres per hectare.

Vintage

2020 in Burgundy was characterised by hot and dry conditions, resulting in an early harvest that took place on the 25th August. 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 small, perforated boxes. Upon arrival at the winery, they underwent a second selection process to ensure that only those in pristine condition were used. After sorting, 50% of the bunches were destemmed and placed in vats to be pressed by gravity, without any crushing. A 25-day maceration on the skins followed, including six days at a cold 12°C, to extract the maximum amount of flavours and aromatics. Fermentation took place, using indigenous yeasts, with two punch downs to further extract flavour and tannins and with no addition of sulphur. The wine was then racked to oak, 30% of which was new, to be aged for 11months. Bottling took place in September 2021.

Tasting Notes & Technical Details

Alcohol (ABV)

14%