2010 Louis Jadot Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

Medium red. Oaky aromas of dark cherry, mocha, roasted herbs and underbrush; low-toned and earthy following the Bonnes-Mares and Musigny. Then fat and sweet but a bit undifferentiated on the palate, with some smoky reduction currently suppressing underlying fruit. This is made from purchased wine and does not have the same definition as the wines vinified by Jadot. Finishes with substantial dusty tannins.

The 2010 Clos de la Roche is dark, voluptuous and seductive. Black cherries, mint, spices and graphite flesh out on the mid-palate and finish. The Clos de la Roche boasts gorgeous inner sweetness and perfume, with big, yet fine, tannins that frame the fruit through to the finish. The style is rather immediate, but I don’t see anything wrong with that. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2035. I tasted an amazing range of 2010 reds at Jadot with long-term winemaker Jacques Lardiere and his successor Frederic Barnier. In order to make this large section of the report easier to read, I have broken up the wines into the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits. Lardiere and Barnier told me they were quite worried about the prospects for the harvest upon their return from summer vacations in August, but the year was saved by a perfect September. Yields are down 25-50% because of the frost and cold weather earlier in the year, but overall quality is very high. Lardiere and Barnier also noted that early on it appeared that there would be a wide gap in quality between the Cote de Beaune and the Cote de Nuits, but over time that gap narrowed to some extent. Still, there is little question the vintage was more challenging in the Cote de Beaune because of a rainier summer and overall higher precipitation throughout the year. Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7756

The 2010 Clos de la Roche is dark, voluptuous and seductive. Black cherries, mint, spices and graphite flesh out on the mid-palate and finish. The Clos de la Roche boasts gorgeous inner sweetness and perfume, with big, yet fine, tannins that frame the fruit through to the finish. The style is rather immediate, but I don’t see anything wrong with that. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2035. ||I tasted an amazing range of 2010 reds at Jadot with long-term winemaker Jacques Lardiere and his successor Frederic Barnier. In order to make this large section of the report easier to read, I have broken up the wines into the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits. Lardiere and Barnier told me they were quite worried about the prospects for the harvest upon their return from summer vacations in August, but the year was saved by a perfect September. Yields are down 25-50% because of the frost and cold weather earlier in the year, but overall quality is very high. Lardiere and Barnier also noted that early on it appeared that there would be a wide gap in quality between the Cote de Beaune and the Cote de Nuits, but over time that gap narrowed to some extent. Still, there is little question the vintage was more challenging in the Cote de Beaune because of a rainier summer and overall higher precipitation throughout the year. Wine Advocate.February, 2012