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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Decanter
The 2022 Baby Jesus is a wine of gorgeous intensity, with alluringly ripe aromas of blackberry and plum with notes of peony and spice. The forward fruits continue on the palate as intensely sweet and silky, with a density and grip that are only apparent with time. The grapes are from nearly four hectares of vines, although only the oldest vines and most concentrated fruit are used for this bottling, with some declassified into Beaune du Château. This wine will open in five to seven years and should easily drink for 30 more after the harvest.
Barrel Sample: 96 -
PinotReport
Often consumers expect a great Burgundy to be a dramatic and showy wine. This is an ideal example of how Burgundian greatness often expresses itself more gently. The harmony of red-fruit character with superfine tannins, plus excellent concentration and really silky tannins on the medium-bodied palate marks this out as a truly exceptional wine for the appellation. Delicious though it is now, try to give it some time in the glass to reveal its delicately spicy mystery. From a 3.9 hectare parcel in the middle of the slope of the 1er Cru Greves, where there's never any hydric stress. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Jasper Morris
More crimson than purple, with notably more presence than the other Beaunes. A range of fruits finishing with some black cherry after the dark red berries, a heightened intensity of fruit, with an excellent balance between tannin and acidity, and notable length. Not racked but has retained purity. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Oct 2023.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jesus is lovely, wafting from the glass with aromas of blackberries, spices, violets and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, broad and enveloping, with a fleshy attack that segues into a refined, mineral palate and a saline finish, it's a benchmark for the appellation.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Wine Spectator
A spicy red, this boasts sandalwood, white pepper and vegetable aromas matched to strawberry and cherry fruit. Linear and compact, with dusty tannins that leave a solid grip on the mineral finish now. Shows fine balance and length. Best from 2028 through 2045.
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Vinous
The 2022 Beaune Les Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 1er Cru has a clean and fresh nose of maraschino cherries, candied orange peel and crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and gentle grip, slightly powdery in texture. The attractive, mocha-tinged finish lingers in the mouth. This will drink very well after 5-7 years.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
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.