Neil Martin, Robert Parker’s Burgundy specialist at the Wine Advocate, released his 2012 Burgundy scores last week. His scores confirm 2012 as an excellent vintage, yet with so little being made, production is down 50% from 2009, and rapidly growing global demand this is unquestionably a vintage to buy on release, en primeur.
Notably the famous Louis Jadot, who have some of the best plots in the Cote d’Or, has been described by Neil Martin as a Domaine that ‘produce wine equal if not better than bijou growers’, offering superb potential for price appreciation and incredible quality vs. price. We have sold through most of our allocations yet have selected two special parcels to go to new buyers outside normal allocations, these are the Grand Cru Chapelle Chambertin 2012 which received a staggering 95-97 points and the incredible 1er Cru plot Gevrey Chambertin Cazetiers which scored 92-94, these are not to be missed.
Maison Louis Jadot Chapelle Chambertin 2012
6x75cl – £675 IB – 95-97NM
Chapelle Chambertin lies directly underneath Chambertin Clos de Beze, where the soil takes on a pebbly, hard rock consistency, which is richer than the neighbouring Grand Cru Griotte. The vineyard is 5.49ha, producing only 22,000 bottles and Louis Jadot, who along with Ponsot, Damoy, Drouhin-Laroze and Trapet are one of the principal and best properties with a plot of 39a, producing less than 1,500 bottles; this year greatly reduced.
Jadot’s Chapelle is superb and offers incredible value for money: Burghound (Allen Meadows) has awarded this wine an average of 93 points over the last five years and 2012 has achieved even greater heights scoring 95-97 points as one of Neil Martin’s Jadot wines of the vintage. Considering the huge global demand for top Grand Cru red Burgundy, £112 per bottle for a leading Chambertin vineyard seems undervalued. This is a wine to buy now, store for 6-8 years until it can be approached, at which point it be worth £200 a bottle and can be drunk over ten years with immense pleasure, or resold for a healthy profit: it is just a shame so little of it has been made!
In the eyes of Neil Martin, Jadot made the best Chapelle Chambertin in 2012 and outscored the great Domaine Ponsot, Cecile Tremblay and Perrot Minot. Ponsot 2012 has not been released yet but to put things in to perspective their 2011 is trading at £1,100 for six bottles so the value and potential for growth is obvious.
Neil Martin, The Wine Advocate 95-97 points
The glorious 2012 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, which is domaine-owned, shows a little more wood at the moment although it is embroidered with the carapace black cherry and raspberry fruit. With aeration, it reveals attractive sea spray aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with cashmere tannins and sensual texture that lend it a more Vosne-like personality. It is very harmonious and there is a thrilling crescendo towards its precocious, yet classy finish. Superb.
Domaine Louis Jadot Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Cazetiers
6x75cl – £295 IB – 92-94NM
Cazetiers is considered one of the best Premier Cru sites in the whole of Burgundy with producers such Armand Rousseau and Maison Leroy producing wines from the vineyard. Cazetiers occupies 80ha to the west of the village of Gevrey Chambertin and boarders another great Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Vineyard, Clos Saint Jacques to the north. Cazetiers faces east and is one of the most elevated vineyards in the Cote de Nuits, nearly the same altitude as the Grand Cru vineyard of Chambertin, allowing it to benefit from maximum exposure to the sun in the early hours of the morning. The soil is rich in limestone helping drainage and to retain heat during the day.
Jadot’s Cazetiers 2012 scored 92-94 points from Neil Martin, beating or equalling many of their Grand Cru wines, yet it remains at under £50 per bottle on release. The complexity and structure of this extraordinary wine means it will drink well for 20 years and more while production is tiny already causing pressure on supply before the wine is even bottled. It is remarkable that in 2012 Jadot’s Cazetiers scored the same points as the greatest winemaker in Gevrey Chambertin, Armand Rousseau. Rousseau’s Cazetiers 2010 (90-92) already costs £1,500 for a full case, this is an extraordinary opportunity!
Neil Martin, The Wine Advocate 92-94 points
The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers represents a step up from the Petite-Chapelle, with far more complexity and definition, expressive blueberry and raspberry scents intermingling with fine mineralite. The palate is linear from start to finish, but very focused with superb tension, hints of mushroom and black tea aligning with the black fruits on the long finish. Excellent.
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