Our visit to Burgundy to taste the 2017 vintage at Louis Jadot was as fascinating as ever. The range of their vineyard holdings is astonishing and the consistent quality across the entirety is beyond admirable. We tasted close to 50 Premier and Grand Cru wines from barrel, yet this was a fraction of the available selection. There are few – if any – Burgundian houses that have this reach, benefitting from impressive sites across the region. The winemaking of Frédéric Barnier is sensitive and skilled.
The original estate began in the 1820s when its namesake, Louis Jadot, purchased the vineyard of Beaune Clos des Ursules. The Jadot family sold the business in 1985 to their US importer who, along with President Pierre-Henri Gagey, have overseen further upward shifts in both quality and fortunes. Hardly coincidentally, the last twenty years have also seen a return to traditional farming, rejecting the use of chemicals in the vineyards, and gentler extraction and fermentation techniques in the cellars.
Overall, more than 200 different wines are produced, from humble Mâconnais to the Grand Crus Clos Saint-Denis and Musigny. Just as striking is the amount of vineyard land that they own and/or control, over 200 hectares. Certainly something that is impressive for any region, but remarkable by Burgundian standards, where the average holding is approximately 2.5 hectares.
While the regional and villages wines can offer excellent value, it is with the Premier and Grand Crus that the interest really lies. Our range concentrates on wines from Jadot’s own vineyards, split between Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot (the original holdings from when Louis Jadot first established the company) and Domaine Louis Jadot. The remaining wines were made from grapes grown on vineyards belonging to families with whom Jadot has had long-term partnerships (as well as exclusive access). Indeed, they have farmed the vineyards of Domaine Gagey and Domaine Duc de Magenta for several decades.
2017 Beaune 1er Cru, Clos des Ursules, Domaine Jadot
£ 270 per 6 bottle case in bond
Clean, ripe juicy fruit leading into a flowing palate, textured and harmonious. Gently expressed, gravelly, fine-grained tannins give structure on the finish. Drink 2022-2028
2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, Les Suchots, Domaine Jadot
£ 490 per 6 bottle case in bond
Deep, dark, dusky fruit here with great purity of expression on the nose and into the palate. There is a cushioned, layered nature to the velvet-textured, fruit-laden palate. A very well crafted and poised Suchots. Drink 2024-2032
2017 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru, Clos St-Jacques, Domaine Jadot
£ 690 per 6 bottle case in bond
Perfumed wild forest fruit on the nose. The sweet, ripe fruit is beautifully contained and carried by a powerful mineral drive and energy on a palate of class and refinement. An excellent expression of Clos St-Jacques. Drink 2024-2032
2017 Échezeaux Grand Cru, Domaine Gagey (Jadot)
£ 820 per 6 bottle case in bond - SOLD OUT
From the Rouges Dessous climat in Échezeaux, this exhibits beautifully scented, lifted aromatics. The palate shows moreish sweet cherry and berry fruit.The most striking feature is this wine’s effortless balance. The limestone derived mineral notes add an impression of tautness and poise. Drink 2025-2035
2017 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, Domaine Jadot
£ 900 per 6 bottle case in bond
A firm, compact, dark fruit nose and palate is supported by notes of herb and some savoury aromas. The palate is full and concentrated with mineral tannins providing a very long and spicy finish of great power and presence. Drink 2025-2035
2017 Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru, Domaine Jadot
£ 800 per 3 bottle case in bond - SOLD OUT
Sweet, ripe forest fruit nose – reallybata pure and defined. On the palate the spicy and herbal touch precedes a flowing palate of fruit-encased minerality. The finish is of remarkable length, where subtlety and power provide a scintillating insight into what is to come. Drink 2025-2045
2017 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, Domaine Jadot
£ 870 per 6 bottle case in bond
Lifted, fragrant, red berry fruit of great purity on the nose here. This follows through to the palate, which reaffirms this refined elegance and poise. The dominant characteristics are purity and finesse held together by a long, fine, mineral persistence. Drink 2020-2040
2017 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Domaine Jadot
£ 640 per 6 bottle case in bond
Jadot’s Vougeot, from 40-year-old vines in the heart of the Clos tends towards the more elegant rather than the fuller, more powerful style that can emerge from this Grand Cru. The 2017 shows a wonderful purity of ripe raspberry and loganberry fruit on the nose. Spicy notes come through on the palate and the whole is underpinned by an incredibly fine-textured tannin structure. Drink 2020 to 2035
2017 Bonnes Mares Grand Cru, Domaine Jadot
£ 720 per 3 bottle case in bond - SOLD OUT
Black fruit on the nose then opens to an intense fruit palate that is deep, concentrated and pure. There is a sense of controlled power allied to a sense of refinement and freshness. The tannins here are compact and encase the fruit core suggesting a wine of great longevity and beguiling complexity. An excellent Bonnes Mares. Drink 2022 to 2042
2017 Clos St-Denis Grand Cru, Domaine Gagey (Jadot)
£ 1400 per 6 bottle case in bond - SOLD OUT
The nose abounds with pure blue and black fruit, typical of Clos Saint-Denis. The concentrated yet fresh and multi-layered core of fruit is supported by a full, firm tannin structure which should see this wine develop considerable complexity. The finish is long with spice and dark berry fruit along with firm, ripe tannins and tautly expressed mineral persistence. Drink 2022 - 2040
2017 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru, Les Folatières, Domaine des Heritiers (Jadot)
£340 per 6 bottle case in bond
Lifted white flower notes and lime-citrus on the nose are followed by a flowing – yet structured – palate. The juicy fruit intensity on the palate shows typical lemon and lime characters, supple breadth and a long finish of subtle mineral expression. Drink 2020-2028
2017 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru, Les Morgeots, Duc de Magenta (Jadot)
£310 per 6 bottle case in bond
Fresh, vibrant, clean nose displaying aromas of white peach, lemon and acacia leads to a fine, fresh palate that is cut by a juicy citrus acidity. The appeal here lies in the bright, fresh fruit and subtle structure and in a wine, which will drink well from release and for up to five years thereafter. Drink 2019-2024
2017 Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru, Domaine Jadot
£ 1395 per 6 bottle case in bond - SOLD OUT
Initially restrained, the nose opens gradually with hints of vanilla and almond from ageing in fine-grain French oak. The palate shows a richness of complex fruit with a minerality that builds gradually. Great power and length. Drink 2022-2030
2017 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, Les Demoiselles, Domaine Jadot
£ 975 per 3 bottle case in bond - SOLD OUT
Restraint and elegance here with lovely white flower aromas. The attack shows a sweet, ripe fruit nature offset by a pithy grip giving a textural quality to the finish. Drink 2022-2030
2017 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru, Domaine Jadot
£ 725 per 6 bottle case in bond
The aromatics here offer honeyed citrus, with hints of spice. Revealing good concentration on the palate with a gently viscous mouthfeel and an enlivening note of acidity. This vintage shows the power and density associated with Corton-Charlemagne, but with a certain lightness of touch. The finish is persistent with discreet, saline, mineral notes. Drink 2023-2033