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Jadot 2006 at Brad Weiss's House
Tasted February 24, 2009 by Dave Dalluge with 1,219 views
Introduction
Brad Weiss invited several members of the kitchen tasting group (including Steve Sigmond, Brad England, Chris Larson and Chris Palm) along with Brian Clark, Joe Perra and Gregg Lien to his house for a tasting of the 2006 Jadot line-up. Brian worked the kitchen and put out a spectacular meal including a shrimp appetizer, a great caesar salad, grilled salmon, a pancetta-laced pasta (who doesn't love pancetta?), a perfectly grilled rib-eye, and a killer chocolate cake. Brad poured through a healthy selection of Jadot's 2006 line-up. I did my best to keep up on my notes, but Brad E had us working through the wines at a pretty good clip, so some of my notes are pretty weak.
Flight 1 - 2006 Jadot Whites (7 notes)
White
2006 Louis Jadot Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières Domaine Louis Jadot
88 points
Clean pale yellow color. Expressive nose featuring pretty aromas of lemon, fresh flowers, mineral and nuts. On the palate this is buttery and soft with a bit of harshness at mid-palate. Acidity builds nicely to produce a crisper, cleaner finish. Very nice.
White
2006 Louis Jadot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
88 points
Slightly cloudy. Pale yellow color. The nose is big and fruity but duller and less delineated than the Genevieres. With time in the glass this opened up nicely and added some minerality. A step up on the palate, with great texture, expansive flavor profile, good acidity and excellent length.
White
2006 Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Garenne Domaine du Duc de Magenta
89 points
Clear pale yellow. Heavier nose featuring honey and floral notes. Big yet elegant. On the palate this delivers a big whallop of oak that dulls the flavors. Expansive, mouth coating flavors, excellent weight and texture, decent acidity and a satisfying finish. A fun bottle of wine that is probably worth seeking out.
White
2006 Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières
Pale gold color. Nice big nose dominated by nutty aromas and floral notes. On the palate this is clunky and compact, but with surprising length on the finish. I would say totally closed down right now. Judgment reserved.
White
2006 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot
93 points
Vibrant yellow color. Huge nose with a dominant note of anise/licorice coupled with tropical flavors and an endearing nuttiness. Great concentration on the palate, but not overly expressive at the moment. Full bodied. Barely enough acidity. Good length on the finish. Very promising, but will likely always retain an exotic character.
White
2006 Louis Jadot Bâtard-Montrachet
94 points
Brighter gold color. Beautiful nose that is both expressive and elegant featuring citrus fruit, nuts and fresh flowers. On the palate this is elegant with a lithe yet concentrated mouth feel, expansive flavors, perfect balance and a long, satisfying finish. The best of the Jadot whites on this night by a pretty wide margin to me.
White
2006 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet
92 points
The nose is nice but a tad oaky and not as expressive as the Batard-Montrachet. On the palate this comes across as a bit sweeter, but also more acidic. Great fruit concentration. Nice length on the finish. Should prove to be a very good bottle of wine.
Flight 2 - 2006 Jadot Reds (13 notes)
Red
2006 Louis Jadot Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Barre
86 points
Clear pale ruby red color. The nose gives sweet and simple aromas of cherry/raspberry. On the palate this comes across as muscular/structured with sweet red fruit, compact flavor expression and a fairly simple personality.
Red
2006 Louis Jadot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots Domaine Gagey
88 points
No notes, but I preferred this to Jadot's Clos de la Barre served side-by-side.
Red
2006 Louis Jadot Echezeaux
93 points
The steak arrived and Brad E could wait no longer -- moving these forward in the line-up. Dense ruby red color. Features a heavy, brooding nose of cherry, caramel, spice and pepper that should improve considerably with additional time in the bottle. Great on the palate, with concentrated red fruit and oak. Mouth-coating flavors. Nice balance. Great length on the finish. Very nice.
Red
2006 Louis Jadot Grands-Echezeaux
92 points
Served side-by-side with Jadot's Echezeaux. Excellent nose with ripe red fruit, spice, pepper and floral notes. On the palate this is smooth and elegant with good flavor intensity, good acidity and nice length. Needs time. On this night most people seemed to prefer the Echezeaux to the Grands-Echezeaux.
Red
2006 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Petite Chapelle
The nose features red and black fruit with a healthy dose of oak and a pronounced baking spice. Much lighter weight than the preceding two wines, but nice balance and an elegant personality.
Red
2006 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Estournelles-St.-Jacques
93 points
Beautiful, complex nose featuring black fruit, spice, tobacco and smoke. Amazingly elegant for such a young wine. The taste is dominated by black fruit, but retains some complexity and has a great presence from the attack through the finish. Great balance. Among my favorite reds of the night.
Red
1990 Château Ausone
95 points
Brad E couldn't wait any longer and poured this blind. We knew this was Bordeaux, but nobody guessed right bank and I don't think anyone got the year right. Deep red color; dense to the rim. The nose is a mixture of blood and iron blended with cedar, dark fruit, carmel, tobacco and smoke that sent me straight to Graves. In the mouth this is most impressive with awesome flavor intensity and great length. Still very tannic. I would never have guessed the year right, because this smelled and tasted much older than most of the 1990s I've had. Not sure where Brad got the bottle, but this wine seems to me to be on a fast track when compared to, say, 1990 Cheval Blanc, LLC or Beausejour Duffau.
Red
2006 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot
Ruby red color. The nose gives a simple expression of fresh red fruit. On the palate this is a structured, muscular wine with simple red fruit and some spice that is hard to love. Chunky, tannic, and simple. Could be closed down, but it's more likely Clos Vougeot is just a wine I have trouble warming up to.
Red
2006 Louis Jadot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots
91 points
Beautiful nose exuding red and black fruit, spice, smoke, tobacco and brown sugar. Equally nice on the palate with expansive flavors and excellent balance. Much better than the Clos Vougeot.
Red
2006 Louis Jadot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts
94 points
Minimal notes, but this was my favorite of the Jadot reds. Clean and expressive nose of red fruit and spice. Great flavor intensity in a balanced, mid-weight wine that struck me as very elegant yet complex. Great wine.
Red
2006 Louis Jadot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Petits Monts
91 points
A step down from the Jadot Les Beaux Monts, but pretty good stuff. The nose features a simple expression of spicy red fruit. No other notes taken.
Red
2004 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Elizabeth Bodega Headlands
Popped and poured. Wow, what a change of pace from Jadot. Dark red color. Big nose dominated by ripe fruit and smoke. Very heavy on the palate with sweet, sweet black fruit. Not sure what else to say except it struck me as a high quality wine in a style at odds with that of the previous 18 bottles of wine. Thanks to Joe Perra for sharing this beauty.
Red
1964 Château Gruaud Larose
Another wine that contrasted starkly with the preceding wines. The color is an orangish-red. The nose gives a stinky blend of smoke and cedar that is at least intriguing if not overly pleasant. Somewhat simple and thin on the palate and I would say well past its prime. An interesting wine from my birth year that I enjoyed but can hardly recommend.
Closing
It was another great night with lots of interesting conversation. I have to say WOTN would have to be the 1990 Ausone, but Jadot's 2006 Batard-Montrachet and Les Beaux Monts were pretty darn close. Thanks again to Brad W and Brian for hosting such a spectacular get-together.