Tasted in Pontanevaux, with Frédéric Maignet, Philippe Bardet, Cyrielle Rizzo & Thierry Belicaud, 30 May 2024.
Maison Jean Loron
1846 RN 6
71570 Pontanevaux
Tel: +33 3 85 36 81 20
www.loron.fr
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Other reports with Jean Loron
You may note a new ‘old face’ in my photo – that of Thierry Belicaud. Thierry, ex of Maison Laroche in Chablis, is transitioning into the role of CEO for Jean Loron, as Philippe Bardet transitions into the role of ‘retired.’
Frédéric on 2022:
“It’s a golden vintage for us. All of the following have already bottled:”
The wines…
What a great range of 2022 reds here – the value is amazing vs the Côte d’Or right now. The whites, whilst often delicious, lack some of the energy of this producer’s 2021s – they are very good but not worth a special search…
Whites are DIAMs but the reds are cork, usually Trescasses:
2022 Domaine Croix de l’Ange, Beaujolais
A domaine in the Pierres Dorées – From Moroncé and an exclusivity of Nicolas in France
Broad, deep, dark too – faintly spiced. That’s a good invitation. Supple, concentrated – there’s plenty of dark fruit and graphite minerality here – that’s very tasty – give it another year though.
A domaine with 30 hectares – vines in Régnié
A faint reduction – a more airy dark fruit in this case. Larger in scale and more fluid and juicy – impressive depth in the finish. Holds very well – that’s a simply great ‘villages.’
69 is the department – I had to ask! The ‘rift’ is the fault that separates Beaujolais and Mâconnais. Another wine without added sulfur – more southern vines in Beaujolais after the crus. They are already starting to commercialise the 2022
Broader, more perfumed aroma. Hmm – so perfumed and silky – there’s a hint more visible structure in the middle and finish. Lip-smacking. I just love this perfume and perfumed flavour – very different to the last and just as great but this I my personal fabourite.
Two parcels and very different soil – almost half blue-stone here.
Bright, vibrant red fruit clarity. Hmm, so wide – and slowly mouth-filling too. Fresh, juicy again, very faintly drying in this finish – but with a lovely texture. I love this – it’s not just delicious accessible wine, it’s more than excellent wine.
Deep colour. Fresh and dark aromatic – fine energy here – it’s a lovely invitation. Hmm, a couple of mm of cushion, more obviously velour texture, the flavour of dark cherry with just a hint more floral vs the previous wine. Really wide and persistent finish. Buy 6 of the previous wine to drink while waiting a year or two for the dozen of this one that you also bought !! This is a great Brouilly.
2022 Château de Fleurie, Fleurie
A little extra breadth but also openness to this aroma. Hmm, I see similar concentration but a wine that’s more direct and mouth-watering – the fruit rounder and maybe sweeter. This finish is larger in scale with a small grain of finishing complexity.
2022 Château Bellevue, Fleurie Montgenas
From young vines.
A depth of silky griotte aroma. Extra vibrance and clarity – I really like the shape of this. Quite sweet in fruit – a tiny reduction I feel in this finish. Young vines but a beauty…
2022 Domaine de la Vieille Eglise, Juliénas
A mix of clay and blue stone.
Extra freshness and graphite complexity – less overt sweetness so I personally prefer this. Direct, vibrant, a hint of structure. Juicy, concentrated, delicious finishing flavour – dark fruit intensity in this finish.
1.5 ha. A mix of younger and older vines.
More airy and quite graphite. Much more direct, framed with a faint velvet of tannin. The previous wine is the more delicious and easier today, but this finish is on an extra ‘grandiose’ level – wait two years – but like most years for this cuvée, bravo !!
1.8 ha of mid-slope vines. Vinified at Bellevue, again the label in the reserve caveau style – but nicer.
Airy and wide – lightly perfumed but more overtly complex – more air, more perfume. Just beautiful in the mouth – filling all available space but with airy style. It’s as long as the Clos de Poulette, if a little less ‘grandiose’ but with extra accessibility today – what a beauty and I’d drink it today!
2022 Domaine de la Rochelle, Moulin à Vent
Loron have bought the metayage of the domaine here.
More direct and mineral – almost silky aromatics. Supple, melting, delicious flavour – this a little more architectural than the Champ de Cour but with a fine finishing sucrosity to the fruit.
2022 Château Bellevue, Morgon Les Charmes
A more direct and fresh aroma. Large in scale and structural but wait a little – more visibly tannic in this finish. This is definitely a wine to wait a couple of years for.
A narrower and more direct nose – fine precision. Goregously chiselled, and long finishing – direct and with lithe muscle. That’s a great wine but here is most definitely a wine to wait about 3 years for. Bravo – I love it !!
Third vintage for this.
A deeply oaked nose today. Gorgeous shape, and texture – flavour that just melts over the palate – so much more generous – the structure is completely wrapped with the fruit. A dessert of fruit and double cream, in this finish. I’d also wait at least three years for this – probably 5+ – this time for the barrel flavour, rather than the structure. My personal favourite is easily the previous wine, but if this creamy oak fades to zero – I might change my mind !!
2022 Heritiers Loron, Domaine des Billards St.Amour
A more airy – less overt but still elegantly inviting aromatic. In the mouth there is a fine structure and slightly saline style to this wine – very cherry stone style to the finishing flavour. Very slowly fading. Delicious.
The only wine that’s not yet bottled…
Hmm – here is more volume of aroma and a clear extra dimension of floral perfume. There is structure here but more beautifully presented with wider flavour. Great finishing – it’s panoramic. A great wine.
2022 Jean Gamay Noir
‘From nothing to a big volume wine in 6-7 years it’s our entry wine to the world of Beaujolais but the only wine where we don’t talk about terroir…’
Extra freshness with quite a vertical nose – there are florals here too but different. Round and juicily complex – spicy and with more bitters and visible finishing tannin. Chunky, tasty wine – wine with personality.
2022 Château de la Pierre Regnié Sans Souffre Ajouté
As the name – no added sulfur…
A savoury more natural nose – but growing more perfumed – there are violets here. Broad, mouth-filling, still perfumed. Lots of finishing sucrosity. It all sounds great but this is not my favourite flavour profile.
2022 Beaujolais Villages, Rift 69
Alsono added sulfur
More aromatic density – a nose that focuses on the pinot fruit – it’s very attractive. Nicely juicy but broad and mouth-filling flavour. The flavour with good finishing density. Very tasty wine !!
2022 Jean Loron, Pinot Noir L’Or des Fous
Vines in the Pierres Dorées where there was once gold mines!
Density and profondeur to this dark-fruited pinot nose. A more classy structure of fresh energy but still a depth of good concentration and finishing well. I like this more than the Rift. Just a little less sucrosity here too.
Les Blancs:
The Pouilly is still sealed with cork, the rest are now with DIAM:
2022 Loron, Mâcon-Villages Rift 71
Also no sulfur at bottling, these grapes from Mâcon-Chardonnay.
A vibrant golden citrus core of some generosity. This sits well on the palate – there’s generosity and a good finishing intensity. Mainly pineapple style fruit but this is tasty wine.
2022 Vignes de Chassipol – Mâcon-Chardonnay
A domaine of over 20 hectares – Loron exploiting their 3rd vintage already here. All tank elevage.
A different world but comes from the same place! More structure and fresh energy – not golden. Wide and mobile, nicely concentrated, here with a hint of salinity.
2022 Jean Loron, Viré-Clessé
A selection of old vines, also a large cuvée of more than 10 hectares – mainly from Clessé. This appellation just 25 years old now.
A lovely vibrant width to this aroma – I find it very inviting. Extra intensity and more direct – here is fun energy. And finishes well. I like this a lot – delicious wine
2022 Jean Loron, Saint Véran Les Ombrelles
Ombrelles – A brand rather than a place. Historically elevage only with tank elevage but now ‘a small amount of the total’ sees barrel too.
A spiced width and depth to this fruit. Good scale, extra silk and definition here – certainly more finishing juicy concentration. I actually prefer the less rich style of the Viré-Clessé today as a package but this St.Veran is delicious.
2022 Château Bellevue, Beaujolais Blanc, ‘Princesse Lieven’
Pierres Dorees, young vines at 400m – once planted to gamay. A little more than a hectare. The third vintage of this – vines in organic conversion.
A less large nose but with a round and smoky impression. Mouth-filling, generous, tasty – easy, tasty chardonnay. I would take something with more tension myself – but this is delicious and has none of the negatives that I often find with Beaujolais Blanc.
2022 Jean Loron, Pouilly-Fuissé Les Vieux Murs
Here’s a nice freshness and depth to this aroma too – I like the extra precision here – the clarity. Concentrated but here with a fluidity and finishing in a mouth-watering style that brings a lovely balance to the wine. faintly oaked in the finish but only an accent that will fade. Beautifully balanced, really excellent PF – well done!
2022 Loron, Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Au Vignerais
More oak is visible in this width of aroma – faintly floral complexity too. Good scale and energy here – really lots of wine in the middle of the palate here. That’s a great finish – you don’t note any oak here either. Really long also excellent and faintly tannic in this finish…
2022 Chateau Mirande, Macon-Villages
Nice freshness, lovely structure – juicy – with a little finishing bitters, finishing a little sweet but deliciously moreish – I love it.