2015 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits

Swiss pharmaceutical magnate André Hoffman purchased this estate last June, with the idea that Gilles Jayer, who started working with his father Robert in 1982, would continue to run the estate until he was ready to retire. But those plans were quickly dashed, as Gilles fell ill with liver cancer (he had recently beaten colon cancer); he passed away just three days after my January visit.

New winemaker Alexandre Vernet, who previously spent 12 years at Domaine Germain, told me he planned to carry out somewhat less reductive winemaking and to cut back on the percentage of new oak (Gilles and his father before him were long known for their use of 100% new barrels, even for their basic red wine bottlings). He may also introduce some whole-cluster vinification here. Vernet explained that he’s looking for fruit, length and power.

Gilles Jayer compared the tiny, concentrated 2015 crop to that of 2005, noting that he didn’t have dry tannins in 2005 either but that the earlier vintage has nevertheless been slow to evolve. He began harvesting on September 7, with grape sugars at 13 degrees or higher and did what he described as “very light, soft punchdowns.” The malos were even later than usual here, and a few of the wines were still working when I tasted them in December; my notes should thus be taken as provisional in nature. Jayer planned to bottle his ‘15s very late as a result.