2001 Chambertin Grand Cru

Because the crop size in 2001 was more modest than in 2000, Jadot ended up using a somewhat higher percentage of new barrels. Still, winemaker Jacques Lardiere racked a portion of his "smaller" wines into vats prior to the 2002 harvest, as he wanted to protect the fruit and avoid oxidizing and thereby drying the wines' tannins. Lardiere told me that the grape skins were generally riper in 2000, but he felt that the lower yields and thicker skins of 2001 gave the latter set of wines greater concentration. As always, the wines from the numerous vineyards owned by Jadot are clearly superior to the house's negociant bottlings. Burgundy lovers who avoid the Jadot wines because they still think of the firm simply as a negociant are missing out on some of the region's best and most ageworthy examples.