Seduces you immediately, with expressive violet and dark raspberry aromas that open to polished and brilliantly structured blueberry, savory anise and tea flavors that take on richness on a long finish.
This blend across a number of different village-level lieux-dits in Beaune has a nice citrusy edge. In 2020 the grapes were picked only in the morning because of the heat. The richness of the year comes through in ripe apple and hazelnut aromas and in the breadth on the palate, but the balancing acidity is actually quite interesting. Lovely wine at this level.
The sleek, intense and well defined medium bodied flavors exude evident minerality onto the much more complex and persistent finale where the wood telegraphed by the nose reemerges. This is really quite good though note that my predicted range offers the benefit of the doubt that the generous wood will ultimately be successfully integrated.
The 2017 Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves Vigne de l’Enfant Jesus is showing well, wafting from the glass with aromas of smoky cherry and blackberry fruit that mingle with nuances of incense, spices and baking chocolate. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, velvety and supple, with a nicely concentrated core of sapid fruit, succulent acids and quite a long, harmonious finish. This has come together very nicely since I tasted it from barrel in early December.
Though taut and reticent in its aromas and flavors, this red builds on the palate to a long finish. Black cherry and sandalwood notes are the main themes, while toasty oak and a graphite element linger on the aftertaste. This feels like a thoroughbred ready to run.
Still pretty closed, this is a concentrated and seriously structured wine for a Beaune 1er Cru, which has clearly been built for the long-term. However, its the pronounced, stony minerality that makes this exciting. Bold and still quite tight finish. From a 3.92-hectare plot in one of Beaune's top sites. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2024.
Bouchard has nearly four hectares of this, perhaps the greatest site in the Beaune appellation. On a modest slope with east-southeast exposure in the heart of the terroir, this has produced a sophisticated, elegant wine in 2020, fermenting out to barely 13.5% alcohol with a pH between 3.5-3.6. The fruit is supremely luxurious and lush, yet underscored with plenty of nuance of spice, smoke, earth, and leather. The texture is dense and powerful yet superbly elegant - a triumph.
"The 2019 Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves Vigne de l’Enfant Jésus unwinds in the glass with notes of plums, cassis, loamy soil, black truffle, spices and incense. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and layered, it's deep and concentrated, with bright acids, ultra-refined tannins and a long, penetrating finish. This is the latest in a series of superb renditions of this cuvée, and it may be the finest of them all." - William Kelley
Elegant, smooth cherry nose; smooth, silky, captures the definition of the pure Pinot experience, long, complex and deep with elegance and style.
A standout wine that leaves no one indifferent. With strong character and a lingering presence, it opens in the glass with alluring freshness and brooding elegance. Fine tannins underpinned by measured acidity. Aromas of dried herbs mingle with intriguing apple peel, smokey bergamot and dried roses. A true journey on the palate with a zesty playfulness on the attack and a crunchy richness on the midpalate. Long finish with subtle spiciness.
