Tasted in Meursault with Antoine Jobard, 06 October, 2020.
Domaine Antoine Jobard
2 Rue Leignon
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 21 21 26
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Antoine on 2020:
“No frost. The earliest harvest I’ve ever seen – 18 Aug I started – taking only half a day for some reds – then I started again 22 August, finishing 28 August – the domaine has never finished in August before. A very dry year, but bizarrely the chardonnay was splendid – the pinot lost a lot of juice though – for us it was a very small volume vintage in red but with great colours.”
Antoine on 2019:
“A little frost – but just a few vines here and there, an anecdotic loss. The flowering was much less correct when compared to 2020 – but we have generous wines with alcohols about 14% vs 13% in the reds. Regional and villages volumes were low – 30 hl/ha, we made more in the 1ers, closer to 50. Still, despite the richness, the material, there’s a nice freshness. Some wines are not yet racked – tomorrow – so are harder to taste. Some not as the malos are still not all done – so we’ve plenty of different stages in the cellar – the pinot was bottled 4 days ago – new vines in 2019 – but only 22 barrels from 6 hectares of vines – we doubled the surface in 2019.”
The wines…
It’s a great set of wines in 2019 chez Antoine – in the whites it’s the usual suspects that I found great, but the first vintage of reds here is something of a revelation – well done Antoine!
All still 100% cork here. All the malos were done when I tasted – but three wines were very late finishing so they are reduced and more closed.
5 parcels all from in the commune of Meursault – so could label Côte d’Or, but that’s not what his clients have habitually bought.
Hmm, pale coloured. This has almost a creamy roundness, a suggestion of crème anglaise but not overtly a note of the barrique. Roundness, actually the richness of many with a Meursault label, just a little stricter and mineral in the middle. It finishes great – give this 2 years and you will think you’ve got a villages in your glass.
2019 Meursault
From Sous la Velle, Chaux and Corbins. This still on its lees, it was sulfured last week and will be racked tomorrow.
The nose clearly shows fermentary notes from the lees but air starts cleaning this up pretty quickly. A little more clarity and airiness vs the Bourgogne. That’s a great finish – classy and delicious.
2019 Meursault Les Tillets
A much cleaner nose, though less forward. Stony, faintly reductive agrume notes – nice. Much more incisive and mineral – juicily mouth-watering at the edges. Intense and with an airy but concentrated finish – a great combination.
“At 1.3 hectares, this is the biggest appellation here and the garden to the domaine”
The tiny touch of reduction seen on the last wine is amplified here – a deep nose with a classy clarity. Oof! It may not be a hillside vineyard but here has tons of minerality – cool, almost steely – that’s really impressive wine. Almost sparkling with flavour long into the finish. Bravo! ‘Yes, but there’s really hard limestone – lots of it here in En la Barre’ says Antoine.
2019 Puligny-Montrachet Le Trezin
70 year-old vines here, quite high, ‘always a super quality with grapes that keep clean, whilst resisting the rot.’
A little agrume reduction is the first impression – becoming nicely transparent. Wider, more intense, still plenty of minerality. Concentrated yet never heavy. Really excellent!
A smaller nose but no less airy, fresh and inviting – no reduction here. A little extra sucrosity in this energetic and tasty wine. This is one that I’d not feel the need to wait for – complex, delicious and holds my attention – bravo!
2018 St.Aubin 1er Sur le Sentier du Clou
2012 was the first vintage, 2 barrels. Came from wife’s family. Some parts planted in 1992 and 2002 but the average vine age is 40 years.
The return of a little reduction – it’s at the same stage as the Trezin. More drive, more intense more mouth-watering. Still a little sucrosity but less than Eduard. Lovely width and accompanying texture though – yum! Holds the finish really well – there is material here!
Their Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Champs Gains was pulled out for replanting after the 2017 vintage.
2019 Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru
A part of 60 year-old vines plus some from 2009.
A much more compact nose – yet airy and squeeky-clean. A little more attack and more weight of flavour behind it too. A little more mineral-led, an almost steely impression to the middle flavours. Some small impression of richness at the end and it holds in a delicious way – yum!
2018 Meursault 1er Cru Poruzots
Wide, mineral, faintly reductive – an impression of structure to the nose – the reduction is very modest here. A wave of energy – layered, active, mouth-watering – actually really juicy wine! Long slow waves of finishing flavour – the reduction is through the whole of this wine but on a modest level. That is excellent!
Ooh – now that’s a complex and extremely inviting nose – flinty fruit and freshness. A faint gas in this one – but open, layered, mouth-watering and in this case faintly touched by the barrel. Bravo.
2019 Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières
Together with Remi, part was replanted in March 2017. The vines were on the SO4 rootstock and the longevity of those vines wasn’t great. This still in barrel, sulfured last week, to be racked tomorrow.
I’m greeted by freshness and width, but not many notes that I can name, only the accent of minerality in the base of the wine. A little more supple, no oak. Texturally lovely – slowly, slowly mouth-watering. Considered and absolutely delicious – holding my attention, not with electric energy, rather by balance and cosseting of the palate – finesse. Excellent and whilst modest starting, that’s a very impressive finish!!
Les Reds!
“Fortunately, I had more yield for all the reds than the whites in 2020!”
All in the commune of Pommard – about 1.5 ha. All destemmed.
Medium, medium-plus colour. An airy impression to the nose – floral-infused red fruit – very attractive. Juicy wine again – like Antoine’s whites – the faintest kiss of tannin and flavours that are redolent of the nose. Simply very delicious and equally easy to drink – a dangerous combination! Bravo.
Antoine says, “Yes, I was lucky – it’s my first vintage but that is exactly the style I was hoping to achieve – not concentrated dark wine – I want wine to enjoy and to drink! I really made them by touch and they turned out just as I hoped – really real PINOT!”
2019 Volnay
In Combe near Pommard.
Again a modest colour. A little more depth to this aroma, still floral but less overt versus the Bourgogne. Ooh – silky, a little more depth to the layers of flavour. More mouth-watering than juicy – but delicious all the same. A richer version of the last with more silk. Excellent villages.
Medium colour again. Airy fresh aromas of stone-fruit, red, not dark red, just a suggestion of floral but nicely complex below with this stony character. Fresh and direct is the first impression, silky texture is my second impression. Thereafter growing in width, again, almost juicy. Ooh simply gorgeously delicious here – it only needs the nose to improve to be an automatic recommendation – practically bravo!
Only 7 hl/ha! There are many missing vines…
Same colour. More depth of aroma here, just a shade darker red to the fruit, and some heavier floral perfume too but air makes this ever lighter and more attractive. An extra richness again – layered, fabulous, much more considered flavour – yet my mouth-is still watering, still begging me to take another sip. Bravo.
2019 Pommard
A mix of Rue au Porc, Petit Noizons and Combe
Les volume of aroma but perfumed and welcoming. Just a little darker colour to this, still, fresh fruit. Concentrated, yet just a little more compact, holding it’s concentration in the core. Slowly mouth-watering, deliciously so. A little more impact than the villages Volnay and finishing in more perfumed fashion. That’s very delicious – it just needs to open out more for ‘bravo!’
Vibrant blend of fruit and flowers – not the biggest nose but still a great nose. Wider, more energetic, more open. Well done Antione, grand vin – complex, the perfume even suggesting a little whole cluster. Great wine!