Unusually for my visits here (and elsewhere in Burgundy), we start on this visit with the white wines.
Jadot now exploits (owns or farms) 130 ha in the Côte d’Or and purchases the equivalent of about 70 ha more of Côte d’Or grapes/musts/wine. In addition, there are wines from Chablis, the Côte Chalonnaise, the Mâconnais, and the Beaujolais. In short, Jadot is as close as one can come to an encyclopedia of Burgundy terroirs.
Malo-lactic fermentations began very early. As Jadot often does, it blocked the malos for some of the whites. New oak for the whites is around 25% in 2017; usually it has been around 30%.
I give the source of the wine (e.g., Domaine Gagey, Domaine Louis Jadot, etc.) because Jadot sometimes has more than a single cuvée from a given vineyard. Due to the large number of bottlings, I, of course, cannot taste every single wine that Jadot produces.
My overall view of white Burgundies in 2017 is that it is the finest vintage since 2014, which in turn is the finest young white Burgundy vintage I’ve encountered in more than thirty vintages of tasting from barrel. But at Jadot, the 2017 vintage may equal 2014.
2017 Bouzeron (Domaine Gagey)
As required for appellation Bouzeron, this wine is entirely Aligoté. In this case, it is Aligoté Doré, an old variety of Aligoté that is used by the pioneer of the appellation, Domaine A. & P. de Villaine. 2013 was the first vintage for Jadot, and Gagey owns about 5 ha of vines there. About half the wine is raised in tank, and I tasted only the other half, raised in wood. The wine has lemon drop and mineral aromas. The mouth is pure, lemony, and viscous. (88-90)
2017 Rully
This wine is from must that Jadot purchases. The wine is creamy with some vanilla showing, smooth in texture, and medium-weight. (86-89)
2017 Mercurey 1er Cru Sazenay
Here, too, Jadot vinifies purchased grape musts. The wine is from a late-ripening terroir, and it is tighter and lighter than the Rully, with finesse, freshness, and vanilla and Chardonnay fruit aromas and flavors. (87-90)
2017 Ladoix Le Clou d’Orge (Domaine Gagey)
This wine shows more viscosity and also more finesse than the Côte Chalonnaise wines that preceded it. The wine has lemon, mineral, and vanilla aromas and flavors. (87-89)
2017 Santenay (Domaine Prieur-Brunet)
2017 is the first vintage vinified by Jadot since its recent purchase of the Prieur-Brunet estate. The wine is more mineral and more structured than the Ladoix, but light on the palate. (87-90)
2017 Santenay Clos de Malte (Domaine Louis Jadot)
Graphite aromas (which I usually associate with red wines). The mouth shows good acidity in the front of the mouth, some sucrosity, and some salinity — it needs more time in barrel, but there is promise here. (87-90)
2017 Pernand-Vergelesses La Croix de Pierre (Domaine Louis Jadot)
The Pernand, Croix de Pierre is mineral and medium-weight with intensity, good energy, and some lemony fruit. (88-90)
2017 Beaune 1er Cru Bressandes (Domaine Gagey)
Moving to the premiers crus, the Beaune-Bressandes is intense and penetrating with mineral lemon drop aromas and flavors. (89-91)
2017 Beaune 1er Cru Grèves (Domaine Gagey)
The Beaune-Grèves is stony and mineral in the nose. The mouth shows finesse, complexity, the firmness and minerality I generally associate with white Beaune, and elegance. (90-92)
2017 Meursault Narvaux (Domaine Louis Jadot)
From a parcel acquired in 2016, this wine is pure and lemony with some viscosity and more breadth than the preceding wines. (90-92)
2017 Meursault Chevalières (Domaine Louis Jadot)
The Meursault, Chevalières is salty and less rich than the Narvaux. The wine is mineral and racy. (90-92)
2017 Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières (Domaine Louis Jadot)
The Meursault-Genevrières has typical Genevrières juniper berries in the nose (genévrier is French for juniper). The mouth displays richness for Genevrières but also classic elegance and citrus fruits. (92-95)
2017 Meursault 1er Cru Les Charmes (Domaine Louis Jadot)
Jadot’s Meursault-Charmes has richness, minerality, lemony fruit, race, and good finesse. The wine comes from both the upper and lower portions of Charmes and the vines were acquired in the Prieur-Brunet purchase. (92-95)
2017 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru L’Abbaye de Morgeot (Domaine Louis Jadot)
The Chassagne-Abbaye de Morgeot is mineral, penetrating, fresh, and racy with energy and elegance. (92-95)
2017 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Clos de la Chapelle (Domaine du Prince de Magenta)
The Chassagne-Morgeot “Clos de la Chapelle” has more viscosity than the Abbaye de Morgeot and is broader, but still is elegant with good energy. (92-95)
2017 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts (Domaine Louis Jadot)
Jadot’s Puligny-Referts is light and airy. There’s not the depth of the previous few wines, but this is very pretty and shows good minerality. (91-94)
2017 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Garenne (Domaine du Duc de Magenta)
This Puligny-Clos de la Garenne is richer and deeper than the Referts but airy and elegant. The wine has outstanding freshness, stoniness, and length. (93-95)
2017 Santenay 1er Cru Clos Faubard (Domaine Louis Jadot)
Jadot is very proud to have obtained a small parcel of this vineyard (2 barrels produced in 2017), as shown by the placement of the wine in this tasting. The wine is dense and concentrated with lemon drop flavors. It is penetrating but also shows finesse. (92-95)
2017 Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières (Domaine Louis Jadot)
The Meursault-Perrières shows good firmness and energy with depth of fruit. The body is medium-weight. (93-95)
2017 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Embazées (Domaine Louis Jadot)
Jadot’s Chassagne-Embazées is energetic, light, luminous, pure, long, and nervy. (93-95)
2017 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières (Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot)
The nose here is nervous with lime and mineral scents. The mouth is medium-weight with citric fruits, nervosity, steeliness, and good depth. There’s some power here, but overall, the impression is one of elegance. (92-95)
2017 Bâtard-Montrachet (Domaine Louis Jadot)
With recent land purchases on the Puligny side of the vineyard, Jadot has been able to add 1-1/2 barrels to production of this wine. The wine shows depth, intensity, concentration, minerality, and nervosity to go with the fruit. (94-96)
2017 Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles (Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot)
This wine is light, pure, and steely, as it should be, but with a sensual texture, citric flavors, length, and precision. (94-98)
2017 Corton-Charlemagne (Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot)
The Corton-Charlemagne is stony, dusty, and deep in the nose. The mouth is mineral and firm with the classic tension of the vineyard. (94-97)