Dinner with Jacques Lardière at Table, Donkey and Stick

What a wonderful evening to spend a few hours discussing the wines of Jadot with the man himself. He was eloquent discussing his philosophy, and more than a little discursive, but his charisma and enthusiasm for Burgundy always came through.

I've added a few remarks here and there that he made over the course of the dinner, but it is more than possible that I got some fact or opinion wrong, as Frenglish is not a forte of mine.

• 2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  This has always been a satisfying and excellent bottle of champagne, even if it isn't quite to the level of the 2002. A little rounder and richer, but with the necessary chardonnay cut here, this is really what comes across to me as great champagne. A touch of sweetness here adds complexity and smooths out the palate. Still drinking nicely -- no need to worry about this shutting down, at least not yet.

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• 2016 Résonance Pinot Noir 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Very bright and juicy, both on the nose and palate. There's a slight crunch here, and something that comes off as just slightly carbonic. Probably needs a few months more to fully settle down. A little green and a hint astringent on the palate, but mostly fresh and tasty.

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• 2015 Résonance Pinot Noir Découverte Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  Probably my favourite of the Résonance lineup here tonight. It's a bigger, richer wine, with the darkest complexion of the three. Spicy black fruit here, with some serious ripeness that is actually handled quite nicely. No signs of heat here, despite its heft. There are still youthful elements that need time to settle down.

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• 2014 Résonance Pinot Noir Resonance Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton

  There's a slight hint of smoke on the nose, and the fruit here is a mix between red and black. It's not as dense and structured as the 2015 Découverte, and there's a little more acidic lift here. However, I find the tannins a little coarse, and there's a touch of heat that seems to waft in the finish.

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• 2012 Louis Jadot Chambolle-Musigny 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

  A slight hint of reduction here, but some nice spice notes. I'm not entirely sure that the prettiness of the village shows in this wine -- certainly, the fruit is on the red side, but there's a bit more spice here than I would expect. The palate is pleasant and not too complex, with the tannins poking out a little bit on the finish.

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• 2009 Louis Jadot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  Didn't get a chance to notate whether this was the Dom. Gagey bottling or not (my understanding from talking to M. Lardière tonight was that they are indeed separate wines). In any case, this is a wine that shows its terroir quite honestly -- it's darker toned, with some earthy notes, as well as a moderate hint of spice. It's quite hearty on the palate, and shows some serious heft. The ripeness of the vintage shows, too, but it's restrained. Tannins are still heavy.

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• 2007 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Domaine Louis Jadot 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Between this and the 2006, I actually enjoyed this more (though M. Lardière seemed to enjoy the 2006 more now, but said that the 2007 would be the better wine with time -- that seemed the opposite of what I thought, but I'm also not going to argue that point). This is showing some nascent secondary aromatics, with a bit of mushroom and earth coming out of the perfumed red fruit. It's graceful, light, and balanced on the palate, with a really nice vein of acidity that keeps this fresh. Quite an elegant edition of this perennial favourite of mine.

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• 2006 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Domaine Louis Jadot 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Compared to the 2007, this is a headier, more brooding wine, showing a little bit of beetroot on the nose and palate, as well as more black fruit and damp earth notes. The palate is much more opaque than the 2007, with a lot more earth and black elements. The tannins here match too -- they're far more burly and intense. Where the 2007 seemed to be ready to drink, this seemed to need more time to fully resolve. I'll note that that was the opposite of what M. Lardière seemed to think.

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• 2006 Louis Jadot Corton-Pougets Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Clearly, the quality is there, but this isn't the most readily enjoyable wine right now. It's very similar in style to the 2006 CSJ with its intense black fruit and earth, but there's more heft and more inscrutability on the back end of this wine. It clamps down hard, with tons of tannin too. Needs decades to ease up.

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• 2003 Louis Jadot Corton-Pougets Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  On the nose, there's no roasted aromas at all -- I'm not sure the vintage is an easy call here (and M. Lardière was justifiably proud of doing well this year). However, this is just nowhere close to ready -- again, it's a dense ball of black fruit, structure, and tannin, though there's a little bit of sweetness that hints at the vintage.

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• 1990 Louis Jadot Corton-Pougets Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  I had really, really loved this wine a few years ago when I had it at the same restaurant (albeit in the front of the room rather than the back), but I remember it being a bottle that truly spoke to me of Burgundy. Today's bottle, unfortunately, didn't leave as stark an impression -- I found it fairly ripe, and showing the signs of wear and tear that so many 1990s are starting to acquire (mostly in the form of a bit of muddiness). That said, this is still perfectly fine to drink, even if it is a touch old for my taste.

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• 2002 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Domaine Louis Jadot 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  So pleased I didn't have to open one of my own, especially since this pretty much proved to me that this is way too young. There's a nice earthiness to this wine, but it's mostly obscured by a huge amount of black fruit on the nose. The fruit is sweet and intense, and this still shows a slight juiciness as well. Large-scaled, but this is still clearly on the young side, as it needs to relax a little before becoming truly enjoyable.

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• 2000 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

  I've loved how the 2000s have been drinking for the past few years, and this was another bottle that proves the point. The perfumed aromatics here are incredible, with both lovely florals and red fruit. It's simultaneously delicate and powerful at the same time. The palate is fully resolved, with beautiful acids framing sweet red fruit and a dense core of rusty earth. M. Lardière was very proud of this vintage, and rightly so. To my palate, at peak.

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• 1996 Louis Jadot Clos St. Denis 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru

  I believe, from the same lot as the bottle last month, and showing far, far better. Apparently all it needed was a generous amount of air. Now, we are getting tons of black fruit and spice, with a touch of smoke as well. The palate is filled out, with black fruit and racy acids balancing each other out. It doesn't come across as angular as many other 1996s. Really lovely stuff.

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• 1990 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Ursules Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru

  I actually liked this a little more than the Corton Pouget of the same vintage tonight. I found a bit of the same dirty earth and muddiness, but there seemed to be more outright fruit on this wine than the Pouget (go figure), and it is nicely balanced with the earthy notes. There are some moderate stewed notes here, but they're not too obtrusive. Drink up.

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• 2012 Louis Jadot Meursault Les Narvaux 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Apparently, this wine was started by M. Lardière but the élevage finished after he had left Louis Jadot. I liked his quip that it was too reduced, but that was certainly true. There's a nice bit of reduction here on the nose, but the palate is broad and weighty, with some really nice fleshy stone fruit to add richness to the acidity. I'm pretty sure I liked this more than M. Lardière.

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• 2012 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

  Fantastic stuff. Struck matchstick reduction (which M. Lardière did not enjoy, and which I do), with layers of minerality and complexity here. Tons of fruit, this is a very fat and powerful wine and fully respectful of the appellation on the label. I love the complexity and flinty reduction here. There's a serious amount of ripeness here, but that is all cut through by plenty of acidity. I think, especially with the change in cork, that it may well be time to put a few of these back in the cellar.

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• 2005 Louis Jadot Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Oxidized. Even M. Lardière said so, which spawned a discussion on the issues plaguing white Burgundy in the last few decades. I was surprised at his forthrightness about premox, and could see his sadness that so many great vintages were ruined by bad corks. He objected to the more reductive modern style of white Burgundy as a reaction to the oxidation problem, saying that the reduction tended to obscure the terroir of the chardonnay.

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