Domaine Jessiaume
This is a new addition to my roster, a last-minute one since I receive a visit request that coincides with a free hour at the end of the following day. It demands a hazardous drive through the rain from Morey-Saint-Denis, though I find these wines worth the journey. I meet William Waterkeyn, a young, tousled winemaker, with infectious enthusiasm, at the winery (adjacent to the level-crossing as you enter Santenay).
“Since 2020, the estate has been owned by a French doctor who was in biomedical research,” he explains. “He bought it from Sir David Murray and, before that, the Jessiaume family [who founded the estate in 1850]. I’ve been here for eight years. I used to work at Alex Gambal and with Géraldine Godot [Domaine de l’Arlot]; also, I did one vintage in Oregon at Rex Hill. I’m in charge of all the winemaking. It’s a 15-hectare estate with one-quarter based in the Santenay appellation. We have a négociant side which is about 20% of the volume, though there is just one white and two reds in 2021. We have been organic since 2016 and certified since 2019; we practice low intervention vinification with no SO2 apart from a little during maturation and fermenting with natural yeasts. We do a gentle crushing, just breaking the skins to keep the berries intact, which means the wines sometimes have a carbonic profile. We undertake a gentle extraction, which means we don’t do any pigeage, just remontage and some déléstage with cold maceration, around five days, before alcohol fermentation and a two- or three-week cuvaison. The barrel maturation is in oak barrels for 12 months and then six months in stainless steel for the whites before bottling; the regional wines are bottled the summer before harvest. The reds are aged for 12-16 months in barrel with a couple of months in stainless steel. We use around 15-25% new oak for the Village Crus and one-third new oak for the Premier Crus. We export 80% of our volume.”
I particularly enjoy the Santenays from this address, especially the slightly pretentiously entitled 2021 Santenay Les Gravières "Numerus Clausus" 1er Cru; however, my pick is a superb Beaune Les Cents-Vignes that vies with the Volnay Les Brouillards. The 2021 Auxey-Duresses Les Ecussaux 1er Cru caught my attention from an appellation that did rather well in this difficult vintage. I look forward to returning.
From Servants of the Seasons: Burgundy 2021 (Jan 2023) by Neal Martin
2021 AUXEY-DURESSES VILLAGE
Color: Red
(85-87)
Drinking Window: 2023 - 2029
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Auxey-Duresses Village has a light nose with brambly red fruit laced with strawberry pastilles and subtle sous-bois scents. The palate is medium-bodied with soft tannins, oddly, reminiscent of a New Zealand Pinot Noir (meant as a complement.) Light but satisfying on the finish.
2021 SANTENAY LA CASSIÈRE
Color: Red
(86-88)
Drinking Window: 2023 - 2029
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Santenay La Cassière comes from a two-hectare parcel. Baked cherries intermix with loamy scents that gain vigour in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, nicely balanced with a saliva-inducing piquancy on the finish. Modest length, this is a decent, classically-styled Santenay to drink over the next 5-7 years.
2021 SANTENAY CLOS DU CLOS GENET
Color: Red
(89-91)
Drinking Window: 2024 - 2034
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Santenay Clos du Clos Genet comes from a parcel with an actual stone wall, around 0.5-hectares next to the village of Santenay. This has a fragrant nose with brambly red berry fruit, bergamot and Earl Grey, nicely defined with more intensity than the La Cassière. The palate is well balanced with rounded tannins, exhibits fine concentration with a smooth red cherry and crushed strawberry finish, a hint of kirsch on the aftertaste. Very seductive.
2021 AUXEY-DURESSES LES ECUSSAUX 1ER CRU
Color: Red
(90-92)
Drinking Window: 2024 - 2034
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Auxey-Duresses Les Ecussaux 1er Cru sees commingling red and black fruit, hints of white pepper and rooibos, delineated and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, taut and fresh, quite poised with a judicious touch of white pepper on the finish. Very fine. Just lay this down for 12-18 months.
2021 BEAUNE LES CENTS VIGNES 1ER CRU
Color: Red
(91-93)
Drinking Window: 2024 - 2036
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Beaune Les Cents Vignes 1er Cru comes from a hectare parcel (1.16ha), around 60-year-old vines. This has quite a complex bouquet, fine mineralité and tension with dark cherry fruit mixed cranberry and brown spices. The palate is medium-bodied with well integrated oak, very elegant in style. This gently fans out with a sustained, sour cherry and crushed strawberry finish. A tender and quite delicious Beaune.
2021 VOLNAY LES BROUILLARDS 1ER CRU
Color: Red
(91-93)
Drinking Window: 2024 - 2034
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Volnay Les Brouillards 1er Cru has fine presence on the nose, quite complex with dark plum, sous-bois, touches of orange pith and wild mint. The palate is medium-bodied with smooth tannins, quite a sensual Volnay, open-knit and generous with raspberry and crushed strawberry fruit mixed with white pepper on the finish. Very promising - though it will be difficult to resist in its flush of youth.
2021 SANTENAY LA COMME 1ER CRU
Color: Red
(88-90)
Drinking Window: 2023 - 2032
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Santenay La Comme 1er Cru, from a 0.16-hectare plot, has an enticing bouquet with darker fruit, hints of balsamic and sage, quite complex and mercurial in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy red fruit, one of Jessiaume's more citric cuvées with a hint of orange zest towards the finish. Fine length.
2021 SANTENAY LES GRAVIÈRES 1ER CRU
Color: Red
(88-90)
Drinking Window: 2023 - 2032
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Santenay Les Gravières 1er Cru is the main cuvée and comes from a considerable 3.8-hectare parcel. Slightly darker in colour, this has a clean and pure bouquet with dark cherries, citrus fruit - Mirabelle and Clementine, lightly spiced with just a hint of soy. The palate is medium-bodied with very pliant tannins, harmonious and focused, easygoing in the positive sense of the word. The wood tannins will require a little time to be fully assimilated.
2021 SANTENAY LES GRAVIÈRES NUMERUS CLAUSUS 1ER CRU
Color: Red
(90-92)
Drinking Window: 2024 - 2036
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Santenay Les Gravières Numerus Clausus 1er Cru comes from a parcel containing the oldest vines that then undergoes a barrel selection - four this year (two new). At the moment, the oak comes through on the nose, though it is simpatico with the fruit. Quite intense considering the growing season. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine acidity, taut and fresh with a cohesive and quite sustained finish. Cellar this for a couple of years - very fine.
2021 BOURGOGNE ALIGOTÉ
Color: White
86
Drinking Window: 2023 - 2024
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Bourgogne Aligoté has a well-defined nose with apple blossom and honeysuckle scents. The palate is simple, rounded in texture with tropical notes of pineapple and mango towards the finish. NB This is bottled under Diam.
2021 BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY
Color: White
85
Drinking Window: 2022 - 2024
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Bourgogne Chardonnay has a crisp bouquet with apple blossom and touches of clementine. The palate is well balanced, smooth in texture, fine acidity with a pleasing if slightly innocuous finish.
2021 AUXEY-DURESSES LES ECUSSAUX 1ER CRU BLANC
Color: White
(89-91)
Drinking Window: 2024 - 2032
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Auxey-Duresses Les Ecussaux 1er Cru Blanc has a very attractive nose with yellow plum, jasmine and freshly baked popcorn nose, well defined and quite vigorous. The palate is well balanced with a very smooth texture, intense and quite long with a slightly honeyed finish, creamy and seductive.
2021 SANTENAY LES GRAVIÈRES 1ER CRU BLANC
Color: White
(91-93)
Drinking Window: 2024 - 2035
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2021 Santenay Les Gravières 1er Cru Blanc has a gorgeous nose with lemon verbena, orchard fruit, almond and light marzipan scents that gain intensity with aeration. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, harmonious and pure with an almost menthol finish. Superb.
2020 BEAUNE LES CENTS VIGNES 1ER CRU
Color: Red
89+
Drinking Window: 2024 - 2036
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2020 Beaune Les Cents Vignes 1er Cru has a very intense and quite opulent, yet controlled bouquet with blackberry, blueberry and violet aromas that storm from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, quite compact, perhaps having closed up a bit since bottling. Rather powerful yet it clearly needs time in bottle.
2020 SANTENAY LES GRAVIÈRES 1ER CRU
Color: White
90
Drinking Window: 2024 - 2035
Neal Martin, November 2022
The 2020 Santenay Les Gravières 1er Cru has an open nose with red berry fruit, leather and truffle scents, a little rustic in style. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannins, nicely balanced yet I feel it is closing up on the finish and will need time.
