About this Blog

The blog focuses on the essence of wine and food, not how many points or stars it receives. The opinions are mine and should be taken only as that, an opinion not gospel.

Like many collectors, initially I was very much influenced by wine ratings. I purchased wines based on points, even if I had never tasted the wine. And it was much worse than that. I would drink a wine with a high rating, not like it, yet since it was highly rated I’d rationalize that I did not yet appreciate the wine, or that my palate was not sophisticated enough to understand the wine. How’s that for lunacy? As a result my cellar grew in all directions while my palate narrowed. By the time I realized the style of wine that I enjoyed, my cellar abounded with wines whose styles I did not enjoy. All of these wines were very highly rated, just not my cup of tea, or glass of wine to be more accurate. Fortunately I was able to sell many of these wines to those who either enjoyed them or wanted highly rated wines. Don’t misunderstand, I am not against wines with high ratings, in fact I own many. It is just that I now purchase wines based on the producer, the style and my palate, not the rating. Nor do I shun reading reviews. I very much respect Antonio Galloni, Alan Meadows, Eric Asimov and John Gilman and read their reviews routinely. I pay attention to what they write, not the points they award.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

1996 Louis Jadot Red Burgundy

A Toute Heure was the venue for our local wine group’s most recent dinner.  Located in Cranford, NJ this farm to table restaurant recently changed ownership.  Thankfully the food is still very skillfully prepared.  Some of the dishes we enjoyed included:

A salad of roasted baby candy cane beets, goat cheese, candied pecans, baby greens, balsamic drizzle 

 Tuna Tartare, honey soy drizzle, candy cane beets, black radish, spiced panko crumbs

 Txistorra: sautéed chorizo & shrimp, fingerling potatoes, mushrooms, jalapeno garlic-herb pan jus

 Charred Iberian octopus, garlic oil, broccoli rabe, beet chips, toasted pumpkin seeds, smoked paprika

 Adobo marinated half amish chicken, baby beets, beet tops, turnips, red bliss potato, parsnip jus

 Five hour braised (Nieman ranch) short rib, roasted seasonal vegetable potato gratin, braising liquid

 The Florio Mussel Pot - crushed tomato, torn basil, garlic confit, white wine

 The ATH Mussel Pot- spicy chorizo sausage, saffron cream sauce

 Copious amounts of house made French Fries

 Howard was in the wine queue and he selected 1996 red burgundies (Cote de Nuits) from Louis Jadot.  Says wine critic Antonio Galloni of the vintage, “This vintage featured a rare combination of healthy grape sugars, high acidity and sound, ripe skins, thanks in large part to a very even flowering, well-timed late August rain and a very dry and sunny but cool September. While '96s made from copious yields can be lean and unsatisfying, even tart, the best examples are evolving at a snail's pace and benefit from decanting.”  With the exception of one corked bottle, the wines we drank tonight showed well.

Louis Jadot is one of Burgundy's most important négociants, both qualitatively and quantitatively, with a portfolio that covers everything from inexpensive Bourgogne and Beaujolais wines to several grand cru wines, from the Côte de Beaune to Chablis. Unsurprisingly, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay feature heavily in the portfolio.

The estate was founded in Beaune in 1859 by Louis Jadot.  The headquarters remains in Beaune, although vineyard holdings have increased exponentially. Louis Jadot owns land in some of Burgundy's most famous vineyards, including Le Musigny, Échezeaux, Chapelle-Chambertin and in the famously fragmented Clos de Vougeot vineyard. Louis Jadot wines are also made in Chambertin, Montrachet, Corton and Romanée-Saint-Vivant.

As well as the sizeable portfolio of wines made under the Louis Jadot label itself, the house also makes wines for Domaine du Duc de Magenta, and for Domaine Gagey. Andre Gagey took over as general manager for Louis Jadot in 1968 and, along with winemaker Jacques Lardiere, is often held responsible for Louis Jadot's high reputation.

Maison Louis Jadot created its own cooperage, Cadus, in 1995.  Cadus aims to work only with oak from the very best forests in France, and the wood is seasoned outside for 30 months before it is used to create Burgundian Barrels (which each contain 228 litres of wine).  The amount of time the wine spends in barrel depends on a number of variables, there is no recipe: it may be a year, fifteen months or even eighteen. They don't like to rush things.

All harvesting is done by hand to ensure that only the best grapes are used in the wines. By and large, complete destemming is practiced. They favor long macerations in oak or stainless steel, and the use of wild yeasts for alcoholic fermentation. Malo-lactic fermentation takes place slowly, towards the end of winter, in oak barrels.

In order to achieve the best possible quality for the past 20 years Jadot has banished all use of synthetic products (fertilizers, herbicides, etc.) in their vineyards have taken up traditional practices instead. All work is done either by tractor or, for the most inaccessible vineyards, by horse.
All the wines made under the Maison Louis Jadot label are Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée wines from across the region. Maison Louis Jadot controls today 210 hectares scattered across Burgundy, from the Côte d'Or to the Mâconnais and down into Beaujolais.

1996 Louis Jadot Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru.  Translucent red hue with a bit of bricking at the edges.  Lovely bouquet of cherries.  Medium bodied palate and short finish.

1996 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jaques 1er Cru. Corked

1995 Louis Jadot Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Boucherottes Domaine des Héritiers 1er Cru. Since the previous wine was corked, Jeff grabbed this bottle from his car to replace it.  Earthy bouquet and soft palate but not a very exciting wine.

1996 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot Grand Cru. This was very good and drank very nicely.  Soft and round palate with a lengthy finish.

1996 Louis Jadot Echezeaux Grand Cru. This was also very good.  Most structured wine of the evening with good acidity and a long and pleasant finish.

1996 Louis Jadot Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru. Consensus wine of the evening.  The wine was full-bodied with terrific structure, balance, complexity and a lasting finish.  What is interesting is that according to wine critic John Gilman it was not made by the domaine, but was mad with purchased wine.



Thanks Howard for an excellent selection of wines and food.  Very happy to be part of this wonderful group.

Saluté
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