Tastings by Michael

2019 Rully Clos de Bellecroix of Jean-Baptiste Jessiaume is a white wine, made from Chardonnay. Rully is an area known for white and red wines. Crémant de Bourgogne, the sparkling wine of the Burgundy area, is also being made with grapes from that area. The soil is of limestone-clay. JB Jessiaume uses grapes from a small parcel of only 0,8 hectares. The harvest of the grapes is manual. Pressing is done without prior destemming. Following short maceration, fermentation of the must takes place in casks. Maturation follows, with 12 months in barrique, whereof 10.-15% are new.

Straw colour, brilliant. In the nose, you find aromas of white fruit, in particular, white peach. Also, there are notes of fresh almond, a very slight hint of butter and a flowery touch. On the palate, the wine is dry, with medium acidity, a round mouthfeel, and in addition to the aromas noticed in the nose there is a hint of spices. All in all, the 2020 Rully Clos de Bellecroix is a very nice fresh Chardonnay that harmonizes well with fish, shell fish but also with some cheese. Available in Brazil at Primeur Vinhos.

TBM 90-91 points.

2019 Santenay “Clos du Haut Village” of Jean-Baptiste Jessiaume is a red wine from Burgundy. It is made applying biodynamic principles. The winery works with selected vintners whose grape production they supervise, as if they were their own vineyards.

This Santenay Village wine shows a rubi colour with some violet reflexes. In the nose, very pleasant and rather intense aromas of red fruit, like blue plum, raspberry, blueberry and red currant, with a touch of violet flower. In the palate, the red fruit shows itself nicely, the wine is dry, with medium acidity and silky tannins, quite round and with a long finish. This wine is still young, but ready to be enjoyed in its current fruit phase. It clearly has great potential, so if you want to store it for several years, there will be no problem. In Brazil, it is available at PRIMEUR Vinhos.

TBM 92 points.

The 2020 Chardonnay Jean-Baptiste Jessiaume is a wonderful white Burgundy wine. It is made with Chardonnay grapes from the Santenay region, manually harvested. Gently pressed with whole stems, the must is decanted and then put to fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Maturation 12 months 50% in cuves and 50% in barrels. Jean-Baptiste Jessiaume is a young winery that is based on old family tradition.

Straw colour, with greenish reflexes. In the nose, aromas of white fruit, apple, some citric notes and white flowers. On the palate, the wine is dry and fresh, with a great mouthfeel and a nicely long finish. Great wine at an excellent price-quality-relationship. Available in Brazil at PRIMEUR.

TBM 88 points.

This 2019 Volnay is a red wine from Burgundy at the “Village” level, made by Jean-Baptiste Jessiaume. The Jessiaume family in Santenay has a long history of wine making. They used to own the Domaine Jessiaume but at some point had to sell. Not giving up, Jean-Baptiste Jessiaume, together with his brother Stan and his father Marc Jessiaume created a new, small winery that is making some fantastic wines.

Deep purple color. Complex aromas of red fruit in the nose, with some sous-bois. Notes of raspberry, cherry, red currant and blue plum. On the palate, the wine is dry, fruity, with medium-low acidity and very gentle, silky tannins.  A real pleasure. I had it with a plate of venison… Pinot Noir harmonises wonderfully with game dishes. A great wine that shows that Jean-Baptiste Jessiaume is doing a great job in wine making. A name to be remembered.

TBM 94 points.