Cote Chalonnaise

It is such a pity that there is so little of this, as it is a lovely wine. There are only nine barrels (he will have 20 in 2017). Being predominantly a white terroir, this is exceptionally fruity with a most attractive spicy element, and Jean-Yves likes this expression. It has very pure fruit, crunchy but ripe, with just the right amount of Rully firmness. Drink 2019-2024.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Jean-Yves started with a small holding of generic Bourgogne from modest locations, and nothing but a shed behind the house to work in. Through hard work and considerable skill, he built up a successful business, part vigneron, part négociant, with a properly equipped cuverie and cellar to hand. He stopped his négociant activities in 2014, with the cellar paid for and, with so many short harvests, he was struggling to find affordable organic grapes of the quality he wanted. He now concentrates solely on his domaine, which encompasses eight hectares, all certified organic, covering Hautes Côtes de Beaune in both red and white, Beaune, Volnay and Rully. He also has a new, small side product underway with Savagnin, from which he hopes to make some Jura-style wines. Across the whole domaine in 2016, Jean-Yves achieved only 9hl/ha, but there is a sense of relief now that the more abundant 2017 is safely gathered. At one stage, things could have been a bit tight, sufficiently so that there is no Beaune Pertuisots or Volnay this year. Such vicissitudes might put the quality of Jean-Yves’s 2016s into the shade, but this is a fine result for what has survived. Both the red and white Rully represent great value for Burgundy with real personality. What does shine through is that, with his négociant business behind him, Jean-Yves is now where he wants to be, with his own, nicely balanced domaine, free to make the best wines he can.

It was a very good vintage for Jean-Yves, although he had to move to harvest very quickly to catch the freshness he wanted. This is a lovely, relaxed wine, long and energetic, thanks to a generous amount of limestone in the vineyard. There are some old vines here, some up to 60 years old, but this is not the key for Jean-Yves: “Better to have young vines on good soil than old vines on poor,” he tells us. Happily, here we have old vines on good soil, producing a composed, waxy Chardonnay that he compares to 2014 and 2010. Drink 2019-2023.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Jean-Yves started with a small holding of generic Bourgogne from modest locations, and nothing but a shed behind the house to work in. Through hard work and considerable skill, he built up a successful business, part vigneron, part négociant, with a properly equipped cuverie and cellar to hand. He stopped his négociant activities in 2014, with the cellar paid for and, with so many short harvests, he was struggling to find affordable organic grapes of the quality he wanted. He now concentrates solely on his domaine, which encompasses eight hectares, all certified organic, covering Hautes Côtes de Beaune in both red and white, Beaune, Volnay and Rully. He also has a new, small side product underway with Savagnin, from which he hopes to make some Jura-style wines. Across the whole domaine in 2016, Jean-Yves achieved only 9hl/ha, but there is a sense of relief now that the more abundant 2017 is safely gathered. At one stage, things could have been a bit tight, sufficiently so that there is no Beaune Pertuisots or Volnay this year. Such vicissitudes might put the quality of Jean-Yves’s 2016s into the shade, but this is a fine result for what has survived. Both the red and white Rully represent great value for Burgundy with real personality. What does shine through is that, with his négociant business behind him, Jean-Yves is now where he wants to be, with his own, nicely balanced domaine, free to make the best wines he can.