Maison Jean-Claude Boisset
Nuits-St-Georges, Côtes de Nuits, Bourgogne, France
Great drinking wines lifted into the higher echelons of quality.
Jean-Claude Boisset was a born entrepreneur and was trading in wines by the time he was 18 years old. In the early days the wines were considered of only modest quality more suited to the volume market, but the appointment of the highly talented Gregory Patriat as winemaker in 2002 (fromLeroy) has elevated the wines into a significant quality bracket. Domaine de la Vougeraie was part of the upsurge of quality - formed in 1999.
More recently Jean-Claude Boisset have recently redeveloped their cellars and headquarters in Nuits-St-Georges to a very sophisticated level - there is even a 'green roof’ overhead. This recent development benefits the wine of course, with the very best of wine-making technology available.
It is not technology alone that brings up these delicious wines of course, but also a careful philosophy employed by the domaine. Respect for the personality of the terroirs and the vintage means they opt for minimum yields and vinification with as little intervention as possible to reflect the true nature of the wine. They don’t crush the grapes and de-stalking is kept to a minimum. They add nothing to the wine and take nothing from it. The Chardonnay grapes enjoy lengthy pressing to respect the integrity of the fruit. They do not crush the grapes in order to protect them as much as possible from oxidation. The juice is transferred using gravity, without settling, in order to preserve as much of the lees as possible to protect the wine during the ageing process. It is left to ferment in large barrels to balance the oakiness in the wine and underscore its tension and length - so less handling and more acidity and freshness. The red wines ferment for three weeks to a month depending on the appellation and the vintage, in vats that are adapted to the volume of for each appellation. Vinification takes place without the addition of sulfur, according to bioprotection techniques.
