Domaine Joblot 2023
Most memories of yore, 30 years gone by, as I was beginning my career in Burgundian wines, are as fuzzy as my birth. A few rather lucid memories stand out and one is visiting Domaine Joblot. At the time, I didn’t know Cote Chalonnais from the village of Givry, from my own arse, but I distinctly remember arriving at a pretty junky farm.
In fact, it wasn’t a farm but a winery with all sorts of equipment strewn all over the yard. We walked inside a relatively new building and there before my eyes (cue the angels descending from heaven) was the most impressive piece of wine equipment I had set my eyes upon, in my short little life. In those days a pneumatic press was a rarity - they were talked about, but rarely seen.
Also clear in the ol’ memory bank is my puzzlement at how this guy could afford such a piece of equipment. I never got an answer, but did learn that this pneumatic press allowed Jean Marc, the winemaker at the time, to gently extract the juice and make a wine with more precision and focus. In those days, very few were achieving this in Burgundy, let alone the Cote Chalonnais.
How’s that for a flashback to the 1996 vintage!? I’ve been a buyer ever since!
It's been a number of years since I last visited, but I bumped into Jean Marc’s niece Juliette, at a wine bar one evening in Beaune. Jean Marc and her father Vincent had been winemaking partners and I’d understood that Juliette had been calling the shots since 2012. However a few years ago, Burghound corrected one of my emails, saying that she was no longer involved. Looking at their website which talks about the 2023 harvest, she appears to be very much involved. What’s actually happening? I can’t say for certain.
I will say that the Domaine has been on quite a roll. The riper vintages over the last several years have allowed them to produce wines with a fruit forward quality, but I always have appreciated the underlying material which allows the wines to age gracefully. I enjoyed an impressive bottle of the 2005 Servoisine over the Christmas holiday. It was lovely, but still there is no rush.
I would expect another strong showing from a ripe vintage like 2023 and knowing the history, these always deliver!
STORY
Domaine Joblot could be credited with putting Givry on the map. Located 30 or so kilometers south of Beaune, in the Côte Chalonnaise, it is an area that has stood the test of time since the Bourbon age when King Henri IV favored its wines.
Givry is a small village planted mostly to Pinot Noir (80%) and Chardonnay (20%) and this Joblot farms around 14 hectares of vineyards mostly in 1er Cru with the most recognized being Cellier aux Moines and Servoisine.
The caliber of the domaine’s wines is even more impressive considering its relative youth. The tale of the estate began in the mid-20 th century when Charles Joblot founded the house. Following the second world war, son Marc Joblot took the reins and introduced estate bottling before handing management over to brothers Jean-Marc, wife Anne and Vincent Joblot in the 1970s. Today, it is believed Juliette, Vincent’s daughter is at the helm, although that is unclear. Regardless, each generation has fine-tuned the approach in the vineyard and cellar and the wines have become increasingly more refined elegant
The philosophy throughout the winemaking process is guided by the aim of precise terroir and vintage expression. Vines see de-budding and green harvesting to keep fruit yields low and premium. Hand harvest is de rigueur and berries are meticulously sorted in the vineyard.
The majority of clusters are de-stemmed for judicious fruit and tannic balance and parcels are vinified separately with ambient yeasts to ensure an eloquent character. A trait of Joblot’s winemaking is the use of closed vats, a step that encourages concentration of the quintessential aromas and flavors of each parcel. Both red and white premier crus are aged in around 50% new oak and are bottled unfiltered, resulting in pure wines that tell the tales of their respective appellations.
