2010 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin Estournelles Saint-Jacques 1er Cru

The 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Estournelles Saint-Jacques is open and inviting on the nose with fresh strawberry, Morello and a touch of marmalade lending another dimension. The palate is medium-bodied with brambly red fruit infused with sea salt and quite a powerful, almost burly finish. This sinewy Gevrey deserves three of four years in the cellar. Drink 2015-2028. This was the first time I had been back to Louis Jadot’s expansive winery on the northern outskirts of Beaune since their memorable 150th anniversary tasting back in 2008. As I quipped in the previous issue, Jacques Lardiere was then talking about his imminent retirement that seemed to never come. But on this occasion, there was new winemaker Frederic Barnier there to greet me. He has large shoes to fill but he seems up to the task of steering this important Burgundy name to a new chapter, having worked alongside Jacques for a couple of years. “At the beginning, we were not so confident about the whites,” he explained in reference to his 2011s, “but it has been a nice surprise. The dry spring of 2011 affected the level of ripeness but it has lent freshness, but with low acidity.” We did not have time to taste the entire portfolio of over 80 crus, but instead took a sample of 20 white and reds from both the 2010 and 2011 vintages. Importer: Kobrand, Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7700

(as with the Clos Saint-Jacques, this wine finished its malo early): Good medium red. Brilliantly pure aromas of raspberry, crushed stone, rose petal and blood orange; showing the Chambolle side of this great premier cru. Dense, concentrated and sweet on the front half, then a bit tougher toward the back, showing a distinctly medicinal aspect. This powerfully structured, youthfully imploded wine will need at minimum of five or six years of bottle aging.

Mid ruby – looks quite exciting. Even above Lavaux. Intriguing mix of the density of Gevrey with such a high vineyard! Certainly tense and racy. Sinewy. Great tension. I’d love to follow the evolution of this… Angular for the moment. (JR)