2015 Chambertin Grand Cru

Jadot harvested Pinot Noir beginning on September 2 on the Côte de Beaune and on September 9 on the Côte de Nuits. The parcels that produced higher yields tended to come in with 12.5% to 12.7% potential alcohol, noted technical director Frédéric Barnier, but very few wines were chaptalized (“and only like adding salt and pepper”). Some of Jadot's vineyards were picked as high as 13.5%. The fermentations were “not too quick” owing to the density of the vintage, noted Barnier, who typically did two punchdowns per day during the eight or nine active days of the fermentation (total maceration time was generally about three and a half weeks). The malos were “classic,” finishing between February and June, and the wines were easy to rack clear—in contrast to the ‘14s, which were leesier due to the element of botrytis.

Barnier uses more or less one-third new oak across the board, in an attempt to minimize this variable and emphasize terroir differences among his vast number of wines. Jadot uses all Cadus barrels (they own this cooper) but have recently added some new origins for the oak itself. And Barnier prefers to use barrels aged for 24 to 30 months, vs. a standard 36 months at Cadus, as he believes that the tannins of younger oak are more resistant to oxidation. “With somewhat shorter aging of our barrels, we get less vanilla, less whiskey lactone and coconut character,” he explained, adding that “the risk, of course, is to get a certain greenness.” Barnier told me that he’s particularly proud of his Beaune wines in 2015, “even in the context of the high quality of the vintage.”