Who has done more with less than Henri and Philippe Jouan? The domaine sums to 6 bottlings across just 3 hectares, so among the smallest estate-bottlers on the Côte. And yet a shared talent for rendering Morey at its most lyrical has made the domaine's unimpeachable reputation, scant production notwithstanding.
Their single grand cru is Morey’s 'Clos St. Denis' via two small parcels of 100 year old vines in the ‘Maison Brûlée’ section of the vineyard. Yields are extremely low (‘absurdly’ says Philippe) so just a couple barrels from the .33ha holding. If you're new to these, the Jouan style converges 'classic' and 'natural' features into a highly individual synthesis. The old-school, intuitive approach gives the wines a pre-modern feel, 'classic' in the way that Charles Rousseau-era wines are. Natural touches, like the nip of VA that regularly finds them, seem attractive individuating features rather than distractions.
We’ve enjoyed enough older examples to share confidence in their CSD's cellaring upside. That said, the cuvée is plenty fruit-generous despite the firm backbone, the old vine sap making for pleasurable earlyish drinking. 10-15 years post-vintage is usually enough.
Cheers,
Jason
