Winemaker Notes
Superb fruit and spice aromas with an oaky note on the nose. Intense, full and yet delicate on the palate, the wine has a charming velvetiness. Very good aging potential.
Pair with game birds, fattened chicken in cream sauce and Burgundian cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Here’s a deep and complex 2021 Beaune 1er Cru with stacks of dark earthy complexity as well as abundant red fruit character and a touch of smoky oak. The serious tannin structure engages the turbo, driving the wine relentlessly forward on the ample palate. Excellent freshness, too. Sustainable.
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Decanter
This wine is among the most successful Beaune premier crus in 2021. The aromas begin with mulberry and cassis fruit with notes of earth, menthol, and smoke. Rich and substantial on the palate, it features surprisingly full body, firm tannins and rewarding length. The grapes are from the Bouchard monopole of nearly four hectares within Beaune Grèves. In 2021, 30% were fermented as whole clusters to ensure complexity and freshness. This should open well with a few years in bottle and age over the next two decades.
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Jasper Morris
Medium deep purple. A little oak almost masking the slight reduction. Clears up and integrates, bringing a darker raspberry fruit. A certain sucrosity on the palate followed by the typical firm tannins which make this wine a vin de garde in most vintages. This is really quite backward and should keep well. Drink from 2027-2033.
Barrel Sample: 91-94 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jesus offers up aromas of sweet raspberries, peonies, orange zest and warm spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy palate that's seamless and complete, with melting tannins, bright acids and a long, mouthwatering finish.
Barrel Sample: 91-93 -
Wine Spectator
Luscious and elegant, featuring rose, sandalwood, wild strawberry, cherry and spice aromas and flavors. This red firms up as it builds to the long finish, with an aftertaste of fruit, savory and mineral accents. Best from 2026 through 2042. 100 cases imported.
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Vinous
The 2021 Beaune Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 1er Cru has a backward slightly candied bouquet with red cherries and crushed strawberries, becoming quite pastille-like with time in the glass. Returning after five minutes it really kicks on. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly powdery tannins. The fruit is slightly darker and presumably more extracted than its peers. The oak feels a tad vocal on the finish, though it slips down the throat easily and the wood will be subsumed with a couple of years in bottle. Fine.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
While the city represents the epicenter of wine production in Burgundy, the term, “Beaune” also refers to the specific sub-appellation of the greater Côte de Beaune, whose vineyards climb up the pastoral slopes that border the city to its west. Originally founded as a Roman camp by Julius Caesar, the city of Beaune eventually became the seat of the dukes of Burgundy until the 13th century. Today it is home to top négociants such as Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Latour, and Bouchard Père et Fils.
The appellation, dominated by Pinot Noir plantings, represents a lovely and charming place to begin to understand red Burgundy. Its sandy soils create light and supple, floral driven Pinot Noir. These wines are designed to be enjoyed within five to 10 years. The vineyards of Beaune span a broad swath of Premier Crus from Savigny-lès-Beaune to its border with Pommard.
Chardonnay acreage here has been increasing here in the more recent years.