The 2011 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot 1er Cru Clos de la Chapelle, has a fragrant, well-defined bouquet with honeysuckle and broom. It is very precise, but tightly wound. The palate is well-balanced with fine tannins, very pure and expressive with a lovely thread of acidity lending tension. This is a top-quality Chassagne. Drink 2012-2020. This was the first time I had been back to Louis Jadot’s expansive winery on the northern outskirts of Beaune since their memorable 150th anniversary tasting back in 2008. As I quipped in the previous issue, Jacques Lardiere was then talking about his imminent retirement that seemed to never come. But on this occasion, there was new winemaker Frederic Barnier there to greet me. He has large shoes to fill but he seems up to the task of steering this important Burgundy name to a new chapter, having worked alongside Jacques for a couple of years. “At the beginning, we were not so confident about the whites,” he explained in reference to his 2011s, “but it has been a nice surprise. The dry spring of 2011 affected the level of ripeness but it has lent freshness, but with low acidity.” We did not have time to taste the entire portfolio of over 80 crus, but instead took a sample of 20 white and reds from both the 2010 and 2011 vintages. Importer: Kobrand, Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7700

In contrast, Jadot’s 2010 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot Clos de La Chapelle, from deeper soils on the back of the Abbaye de Morgeot, possesses gorgeous depth, but it is also tightly wound and inward. Cool, saline notes dominate today, but there is more than enough fruit to allow the 2010 to develop beautifully in bottle over the coming years. The huge, textured finish leaves a lasting impression. It would be fascinating to taste both of the Jadot wines from the Abbaye de Morgeot in ten years’ time. Anticipated maturity: 2015+. Once again, I tasted with Jacques Lardiere and Frederic Barnier during a marathon session that lasted several hours. Lardiere has been on a whirlwind tour celebrating his last year at Jadot before his long-announced retirement, but I will believe he is stepping down when I see it. Lifers like Lardiere simply don’t retire. As for the wines, Jadot’s 2010s are unqualified successes across the board. Of course, the wines from the most prestigious appellations are often compelling, but frankly I find just as much joy in discovering the many fabulous Burgundies from unheralded villages that are sprinkled throughout this portfolio. Lardiere and Barnier first thought 2010 was better for reds than whites, but that gap has narrowed recently in their opinion. Yields were down 15-20% for the whites (less than the reds), because of the December, 2009 frost and irregular flowering the following spring. A number of wines were chaptalized approximately 0.5%. The 2010 whites were bottled between February and March 2012. I also tasted a handful of 2009s and 2008s, which I have included here as part of my goal to revisit wines from bottle on a regular basis. I continue to be thrilled by the Jadot 2009 whites, while the 2008s I tasted are mostly equally succesful. Jadot fans know that this venerable winery is composed of several brands; Maison Louis Jadot, Domaine Louis Jadot, Heritiers de Louis Jadot, Domaine Duc de Magenta and Domaine Gagey. In the interest of simplicity, I have listed all of the wines in this section under Domaine/Maison Jadot. There are two cases in which a wine is made by more than one of the labels, in which case the corresponding tasting note indicates which wine was tasted; they are the Chassagne-Montrachet premier cru Garenne and the Puligny-Montrachet premier cru Folatieres. Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7756

The 2009 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot Clos de la Chapelle Duc de Magenta presents a more delicate, vibrant personality than the Abbaye bottling. White stone fruits, flowers and minerals are some of the notes that flow from this tight, focused Chassagne. The Abbaye bottling is all about fruit and structure while Clos de la Chapelle is decidedly focused and wiry. I especially like the way the fruit fleshes out on the textured finish. Anticipated maturity: 2014+. Jacques Lardiere and Frederic Barnier showed me a wide range of 2009s during my visit in late June, 2011. Many of the jewels among the 2009s are hidden in the villages level wines, which I highly encourage readers to check out. I also tasted a selection of 2008s. The 2008s are quite fat for the year. Yields were lower than in 2009. Lardiere made the decision to age the wines longer on their lees to give them more richness, which he felt was lacking because of the inconsistent, high acid vintage. As a result, these are fairly big 2008s. Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7756