Jadot’s 2015 Beaune 1er Cru Celebration

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | MARCH 26, 2018

I remember the first time I tasted Jadot’s 2009 Beaune 1er
Cru 150th Anniversary several years ago. An assemblage of numerous
Beaune climats, the 150th
Anniversary was incredibly expressive and flat-out delicious from the very
beginning. Not surprisingly, Jadot subsequently decided to bottle the wine (now
called Celebration) in top vintages. The 2015 is the latest release, and a
worthy successor to both the 2012 and 2009.

Winemaker Frédéric Barnier opts for a longer period of élevage for the Beaune 1er Cru
Celebration than he does for the other Jadot reds, which is why the Celebration
is only being released now. Wines from the single climats are aged for about eighteen months. Some are bottled separately, while others
go into various blends. In top vintages, Jadot releases a blend of the best climats as the Beaune 1er Cru
Celebration, which is the present day successor to a wine Jadot first made to
celebrate their 150th anniversary, as explained above. The
Celebration lots spend eighteen months in barrel. Barnier creates the blend and
then gives the wine a further six months in tank to allow all the components to
meld together prior to bottling. Production is around 5,000 cases for the 2015.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1522074882130-File+Mar+25%2C+8+52+58+AM+copy.jpeg"> 

The 2015, 2012 and
2009 vintages, along with a labeled magnum of the 2009 that lists the climats
that went into that year’s bottling

The 2015 Beaune 1er
Cru Celebration is a rich, radiant wine. Sumptuous and expansive on the
palate, the 2015 possesses striking inner perfume and fabulous depth. The
flavors are dark, bold and incisive in this decidedly potent, somber Beaune 1er
Cru from Jadot. Even with all of its natural richness, the 2015 is massively
tannic and shut down. I wouldn’t dream of opening a bottle anytime soon. The
combination of 19 climats results in
a Beaune of unusual complexity and pedigree, but readers will have to be
patient. The 2015 was only bottled in December 2017. 93+/2030-2055. Jadot’s 2012
Beaune 1er Cru Celebration is
aromatically quite expressive, with lovely bright, floral notes that play off a
core of red berry and stone fruits. The gracious, almost feminine, bouquet is
alluring and suggests a wine that is quite open, but the palate sensation is
completely different. Tiny yields and high skin to juice ratios yielded red
Burgundies with huge tannic clout that obscures the fruit, which is exactly how
the wine comes across in tasting. It will be interesting to see if the 2012
softens over time, or if it gains volume with aging. Today, it is decidedly on
the austere side of things. 92/Drink
2024-2049. The 2009 Beaune 1er Cru 150th
Anniversary is every bit as magical as it has always been. There is a
translucence to the fruit that is just remarkable. That is the good news. The
not so good news is that the 2009 remains very tightly wound and in need of
further cellaring. The aromatics are just starting to open up, but the tannins
remain quite fierce. Readers who own the 2009 should be prepared to cellar it
for at least a few years. There is an effortlessness to the 2009 that is hard
to describe, but that gives the wine its sense of impeccable balance. Hints of
sweet pipe tobacco, cedar, dried herbs and cherry add the closing shades of
aromatic nuance to this gorgeous, compelling Beaune from Jadot. The 2009 is a
blend of 17 different sites. 94/Drink
2024-2059.

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