Jean-Claude Boisset, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru `Aux Echanges`

Jean-Claude Boisset, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru `Aux Echanges`

Vintage: 2020

VintageProduct CodeFormatClosureAvailability
2020BO300B206 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

Chambolle-Musigny is one of the smallest and most parcelled of the Côte with only 97ha of Village appellation vines, 50ha of Premiers Crus and 25 ha of Grand Crus. It is thought that `Aux Echanges` takes its name from either a donation in favour of the Abbey of Citeaux or the word 'Echangeur', because the vineyard is at the crossroads of several paths. The vineyard for Boisset’s Chambolle-Musigny `Aux Exchanges` is located on south-east facing slopes with a calcareous and pebbly soil composition. The vines, that cover 0.141ha, are pruned using the Guyot system and are on average 50 years old. Yields at harvest average 32 hectolitres per hectare.

Vintage

2020 in Burgundy was characterised by hot and dry conditions. 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, which took place on the 6th September. 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 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, 50% of the bunches were destemmed and gravity-fed into small stainless-steel vats, without any crushing. 80% of the remaining whole bunches underwent a 13-day maceration on their skins, including two 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 100% new oak, where it continues to age.

Tasting Notes & Technical Details

Alcohol (ABV)

12.5%

Other wines from this producer

Producer
Wine
Product Code
Features
Style
Jean-Claude BoissetBourgogne Chardonnay `Les Ursulines`BO201
W
Organic Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits BlancBO202
W
Factsheet
Bourgogne Pinot Noir `Les Ursulines`BO203
R
Factsheet
Vosne-RomanéeBO207
R
Factsheet
Grand Cru `Clos de la Roche`BO214
R
Factsheet
Saint-Aubin 1er Cru `Sur Gamay`BO218
W
Charmes Chambertin Grand CruBO219
R
Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru `Les Charmes`BO222
Chambolle-MusignyBO224
R
Gevrey-ChambertinBO226
R
Nuits-Saint-Georges `Les Charbonnières`BO236
R
Factsheet
Beaune 1er Cru `Les Grèves`BO238
R
Factsheet
Meursault `Le Limozin`BO246
W
Factsheet
Marsannay BlancBO250
W
Factsheet
Pommard `Les Vaumuriens`BO256
R
Factsheet
Mâcon-Igé `Château London`BO263
W
Factsheet
Chorey-lès-Beaune `Les Beaumonts`BO265
R
Factsheet
Saint-Aubin 1er Cru `En Remilly`BO279
W
Factsheet
Santenay Blanc 1er Cru `Passetemps`BO286
W
Factsheet
Nuits-Saint-Georges `Le Coteau des Bois`BO292
R
Factsheet
Nuits-Saint-GeorgesBO294
R
Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru `Les Terres Blanches`BO295
W
Grand Cru `Corton-Charlemagne`BO296
W
Factsheet
Savigny-lès-Beaune `Les Planchots`BO297
R
Factsheet
Volnay 1er Cru `Les Santenots`BO301
R
Factsheet
Corton Grand Cru `Les Renardes`BO302
R
Factsheet
Grand Cru `Clos de Vougeot`BO303
R
Fixin BlancBO305
W
Factsheet
Pommard 1er Cru `Les Arvelets`BO309
R
Factsheet
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru `Les Chenevottes`BO313
W
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru `Morgeot`BO345
W
Bourgogne Aligoté `Les Moutots`BO348
W
Factsheet
Nuits-Saint-Georges `Tribourg`BO349
R
Factsheet
Organic Beaune 1er Cru `Les Avaux`BO350
R
Factsheet
Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru `Sur la Roche`BO351
W
Factsheet