The 2018 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses Premier Cru has enticing aromas of black cherries, wild strawberries and hints of violets. On the palate, it`s a full-bodied wine, ample and juicy, with terrific depth at the core, lively acidity and a long, scented finish.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: There are three barrels of the 2018 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses (Domaine Louis Jadot), and when I inquired Frédéric Barnier admitted that he had indeed retained a bit of whole bunch fruit for this cuvée. Bursting with aromas of raspberries, cinnamon, orange rind, rose petals and musk, it’s full-bodied, ample and succulent, with terrific depth at the core, lively acids and a long, perfumed finish. This is one of the finest wines in the portfolio this year. “We were never worried about the red wines in 2018,” explained Jadot’s Frédéric Barnier, “but we worked hard with the white wines—blocking a lot of malolactic—to make them fresh and lively. Of course,” he added, “the high yields helped retain freshness by retarding ripening.” Anyone who has tasted with Barnier knows that he tends to come to the point, and those succinct comments are in fact a great summation of Jadot’s 2018 vintage: beautifully balanced reds and whites that are impressively vibrant and precise. This was by some margin the largest range of wines I tasted from any producer in the 2018 vintage: that it was also one of the most consistent speaks volumes about the attention to detail and technical expertise of Barnier and his team. “Operating on a large scale, we know how important it is to ensure wines go dry and to avoid stuck fermentations; and we avoid cross-contamination and taste the wines regularly during élevage, so we don’t have issues with brettanomyces,” explained Barnier.
- Vinous: The 2018 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru has a gorgeous bouquet of violet-infused black cherry and wild strawberry fruit, extremely elegant and refined and gaining intensity with every swirl of the glass. The medium-bodied palate features mint-chocolate-tinged black fruit. The oak is quite conspicuous at the moment and occludes the terroir profile toward the finish. Give it a few years to meld together so the palate matches the breeding of the aromatics.
Producer Information
Louis Jadot is one of Burgundy’s most important wine producers and négociants, both qualitatively and quantitatively, with a portfolio that covers everything from inexpensive Bourgogne and Beaujolais wines to several grand cru wines, from the Côte de Beaune to Chablis. Unsurprisingly, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay feature heavily in the portfolio. The house was founded in Beaune in 1859 by Louis Jadot, although the first vineyard – Clos de Ursules – was purchased in the 1820s. The headquarters remains in Beaune, although vineyard holdings have increased exponentially. Louis Jadot owns land in some of Burgundy’s most famous vineyards, including Le Musigny, Échezeaux, Chapelle-Chambertin and in the famously fragmented Clos de Vougeot vineyard. Louis Jadot wines are also made in Chambertin, Montrachet, Corton and Romanée-Saint-Vivant. As well as the sizeable portfolio of wines made under the Louis Jadot label itself, the house also makes wines for Domaine du Duc de Magenta, and for Domaine Gagey. Andre Gagey took over as general manager for Louis Jadot in 1968 and, along with winemaker Jacques Lardière, was often held responsible for building Jadot’s high reputation in the 70s and 80s. The firm was acquired in 1985 by the owners of US wine importer Kobrand, which still owns the company and imports Jadot’s wines into the US. Gagey, whose son Pierre-Henry Gagey took over as president in 1991, died in 1999 and Lardière retired in 2012. Frédéric Barnier, who joined the company in 2010, has since taken over as head winemaker. Thibault Gagey has since joined his father Pierre-Henry at the helm of the firm. Jadot is also strongly associated with its in-house cooperage and barrel brand, Cadus, which was established in 1996 in the village Ladoix-Serrigny (just outside Beaune) in cooperation with barrel firm Tonnellerie Vicard. In 2013, Vicard sold its stake in the operation to independent French stave mill Canadell.
