Tasted in Javernand with Arthur Fourneau & Pierre Prost, 28 February 2023.
Domaine Château de Javernand
421 Impasse de Javernand
69115 Chiroubles
Tel: +33 9 63 29 82 13
www.javernand.com
Sitting in its own small valley, relatively high in the hills of Chiroubles is the Château de Javernand – to all intents and purposes a beautiful exploitation that makes me think of a mini Château de la Chaize – the building surrounded by the domaine’s own vines.
The château has been in the family since 1917 – purchased by the great grandfather of Pierre’s wife – who was a wine merchant in Mâcon. Pierre, with his wife’s cousin, Arthur, are responsible for the domaine.
There are 50 hectares around the domaine buildings – the whole hillside. Of the 50 hectares, about one-third is planted to vines but there are also fields and woods – the domaine has some long-term metayeurs plus other parcels on fermage – so are working 10 ha themselves, including a couple of hectares in the Mâconnais. The domaine’s area under vine will slowly increase as they are planning to plant some areas.
In 2018 their vineyard ‘culture’ in the Mâconnais switched to organic, and from 2019 here in Chiroubles too – so they will label as AB wine here in 2022. It’s an ‘agro-forestry’ approach in the new vines – planting 200 trees per hectare, evenly distributed through the vines – but the trees will always be pruned so will never become ‘too large’ – ie throwing shade onto the vines. They domaine has some parcels of goblet-pruned old-vines but are now generally planting in lines – and leaving enough space for cover crops in order to avoid erosion.
In the old cuverie, dating from 1850 – the domaine itself dates from the end of the French Revolution – the wines are made in concrete tanks with just a few barrels which are used for some of their whites.
Pierre on 2022 & 2021:
“In 21 we had some frost – it’s not typically a very frost place here. In 22 we had some hail – not all our vines but those which saw the hail were strongly hit – so it’s been a couple of modest volume vintages. 2021 wasn’t a sunny year so the wines have very little in common with either our 2020s or 2022s…”
The wines…
A good first visit. I love the place and I love their approach in the vines – there are a number of likeable wines too.
2021 Chiroubles Indigène
“This is our Chiroubles made with our first wave of organic vines, made with the minimum of sulfur – so long as the tank doesn’t need any sulfur we won’t add any. This is the cuvée that uses these tanks – it may or may not have a small addition of sulfur when it comes to bottling – the vintage will decide.”
Plenty of colour. A large scale of aroma – plenty of pyrazine complexity in this one too. Supple with lovely energy and fine flavour too – this is super – if you are insensitive to the greens you will love this – I really love the style here. Finishing with a little dryness of tannin and slowly mouth-watering minerality.
2020 Chiroubles Les Gatilles
Gatilles – the local green lizards that bask in the sun in front of the château. This is the historic cuvée of the domaine – a representative blend of the domaine’s parcels. Lightly filtered – the previous not.
A very different nose; darker, rounder, riper – and with air a more floral perfume. Good shape in the mouth – lots of volume. Good structure, and slowly fading. That’s very good…
2020 Chiroubles Vieilles-Vignes
All parcels with 40-80 year-old vines. Smaller yields and typically more concentrated – they macerate a little longer too. Mix the tanks one with carbonic, the next all destemmed – ‘we like this combination.’
Again a completely different profile – deeper, more supple red fruit, the perfume’s top notes more elegantly presented. Broad, faintly grained with tannin – plenty of concentration but not lacking any energy. Clearly the longest finishing and with lots of extra energy in that finish – that’s an excellent wine – but I’d suggest waiting a couple of years – the structure is well covered but present all the same!
2020 Chiroubles Climax
A Cuvée since 2017 – ‘our aim to make a ‘great’ Beaujolais.’ This is a selection of different presses and extra maceration from one parcel where they started their tests for organics before the official certification began. Elevage in barrel.
The barrel is quite well balanced for these aromas – it’s the higher-toned perfume that is the most obvious note. Sweeter, fuller – a dessert of a wine – then slowly the creamy barrel becoming more obvious in the middle and finishing flavours. I find this rather sweet and oaky today – I’d have no hesitation in waiting 4-5 years for the wine to shine through – the finish is very long and modestly tannic today.
2022 Rose de Gamay
BJV rosé but it’s actually vines on Chiroubles on pink granite. A mix of direct press and saigné for this wine. This and the whites that follow – no sulfur ‘unless the wine demands it.’
Forward and bright, showing some salinity. Nicely direct, supple, good energy – also a little sweet – the finish more direct and interesting, hold very well – I really like this part – a delicious finish.
And Les Whites:
2022 Mâcon-Villages
An assembly of vines in Serières – near Pierreclos – Organic since 2021. Tank elevage.
The width of higher tones is modestly present – more overt is the ripeness of the fruit in support. Mouth-filling – a relatively generous style for this wine – ripeness but not too fat. The finish is mouth-watering, ripely fruited but not particularly exotic. Good wine – even a faint finishing tannin.
2021 Bourgogne Chardonnay
Organic. Old vines with barrel elevage. 12 months elevage with a maximum of 10% new barrels.
A narrower nose of good freshness – the barrel supporting in the deeper notes. Hmm – I love this fine, fresh width in the mouth – slowly a little barrel is visible – but it’s only a little. The finish intense and interesting – I might still wait a year or two to drink to lessen (even more) the barrel – but this is a lovely wine.
There’s also an ‘anecdotic’ Mâcon Pinot Noir – it’s not actually in the Bourgogne appellation!