Domaine Joblot
Today, I’m excited to offer wines that are near and dear to my heart because they remind me of my humble beginnings, though at the time, I was bristling with pride.
During one of my early trips in the mid-1990s, I discovered producer Domaine Joblot in Givry, Burgundy. Those were the days when I fancied myself “Sommelier smart” — I could talk a good game, but I probably couldn’t have told you the difference between Givry and Gevrey, though if challenged, I would have tried.
I still remember stepping into the winery and seeing, for the very first time, a piece of equipment that few estates in Burgundy had yet adopted — a brand-new Coquard pneumatic press. I was stunned that a small domaine in what felt like the middle of nowhere could afford such cutting-edge equipment. Then came the tasting, and I quickly realized that Domaine Joblot wasn’t just ahead of the curve in winery equipment — their wines had precision and depth that rivaled the famous Domaines from the far sexier appellations.
I’ve been buying and drinking these wines for close to 30 years now, and this is a Domaine I feel offers some of the best value anywhere in Burgundy. These wines offer the kind of depth, structure, and age-worthiness that once belonged only to far pricier Côte d’Or estates. In today’s world of skyrocketing Burgundy prices, Joblot’s wines remain a rare combination of authenticity, craftsmanship, and value — bottles that remind us that great Burgundy doesn’t always need a grand cru label.
The first wave of these wines will arrive on the December container. You don’t have to spend a fortune to buy great Burgundy. Don’t miss the new addition to this year’s lineup — the En Veau Blanc. Very highly recommended.
Here too the nose is pretty pungent with its present array of wood toast and residual fermentation aromas. The mouthfeel of the nicely detailed is succulent if decidedly punch while displaying evident minerality on the bone-dry, youthfully austere and slightly more tightly wound finale. Worth a look.
- Burghound, 90-92 Outstanding Top Value!
In contrast to the prior wines, here the nose is clean and bright with its pretty red pinot fruit, spice and softly earthy aromas. The equally supple, delicious and round yet punchy medium-bodied flavors also exude a discreet bead of minerality on the moderately austere, persistent and slightly more complex finale. Worth checking out as this should be quite good in time.
- Burghound, 90-93
Note: L'Empreinte is a cuvée name for a wine that combines four different 1ers
2023 Domaine Joblot Givry 1er Cellier Aux Moines
Here too the nose is completely dominated by pungent oak and reduction. The delicious and vibrant medium weight flavors possess a beguilingly supple, even velvety, texture that contrasts moderately with the dusty, firm, and youthfully austere bitter pit fruit-inflected finale. This is also lovely and understated.
- Burghound, 90-92 Sweet Spot Outstanding!
This is also pretty aromatically raw with a similar nose of firm reduction and wood toast. On the palate though there is again good verve and freshness to the less dense but finer middle weight flavors that exude more evident minerality on the equally firm, dusty and lightly austere finale. Lovely and understated.
- Burghound, 90-92 Sweet Spot Outstanding
