Chorey-Lès-Beaune “Les Beaumonts” 2021 – Jean-Claude Boisset

The grapes to produce the Chorey-Lès-Beaune “Les Beaumonts” Jean-Claude Boisset were handpicked and collected in 20 kilogram perforated crates. They were sorted first in the vineyard and a second time on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery. At the winery, 70% of the grapes were destemmed but not crushed and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration lasted a total of 20 days, including four days of cold maceration at 12°C. Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only. The wine was aged for 10 months in French oak barrels, 30% of which were new, that had been toasted at a low temperature for a prolonged period of time, to impart a very delicate touch of oak to the wine. The wine was bottled unfined by gravity after gentle filtration.

Chorey-Lès-Beaune was recognised as an appellation relatively recently, in 1969. There are no Premier Crus here as most of the vines are planted on the plains, but two climats (small parcels of vines) are positioned higher on the hillside: ‘Les Ratosses’ and ‘Les Beaumonts’. The name ‘Les Beaumonts’ (‘beautiful hills’) refers to this favourable location and aspect. Situated on slopes of clay and limestone soils, this site produces rich, full wines. The vines are south-east facing, single-Guyot pruned and high trellised (1.3 metres) for maximum photosynthesis. The Pinot Noir vines here were planted in 1902 and are the oldest vines that Gregory works with. The grapes from this parcel are so small and yields so low that Grégory refers to them as the “Caviar of Pinot”.

Jean-Claude Boisset is a family-owned wine company founded in 1961. Jean-Claude’s first parcel of land was located in Gevrey-Chambertin and today the company is based in Les Ursulines, a former convent in Nuits-Saint-Georges, and run by his children Jean-Charles and Nathalie. In 2018, they opened a new state-of-the-art winery, which reflects their modern, technical approach to winemaking. In 2002, Jean-Charles recruited Grégory Patriat, who had previously worked at the legendary Vosne-Romanée producer Domaine Leroy, to revitalise and reinvent the house. He transformed Boisset into a ‘viniculteur’, working closely with the growers, guiding the wines from vine to bottle to achieve the desired quality. In order to create concentrated, beautifully well-rounded wines which are naturally expressive of their individual appellation, Grégory practises minimal intervention winemaking. Each plot is picked separately and hand sorted to ensure optimal maturity. Sulphite levels are low and the wines are fermented exclusively by natural yeasts, with rarely more than 30% new oak used on a wine.