A FOCUS ON... MAISON JAFFELIN

04/10/2021
Maison Jaffelin is rightly proud of its status as the smallest of the great Burgundy houses (the major wine-making estates in the region) having had wine made on site there for five centuries, and with the Maison Jaffelin winery having been founded in 1816.

Despite their diminutive size, a strong streak of Bourgogne tradition shines through everything they do. They are in fact the only winery that still makes wine in the historic heart of Beaune - all others have moved their winemaking processes out of the town and to their vineyards - and they continue to press their grapes using a traditional technique in vertical oval-shaped wine-presses.... handmade of course.

Their winemaker for the past decade is Marinette Garnier. Although she was born in Burgundy, she didn't always plan to end up in wine - thinking instead she might work in the perfume industry. But ultimately the call of the vineyards was persistent (and can you blame her?) and sure enough, she found herself studying oenology at university in Dijon. Besides - surely Burgundy wine is perfume enough?

She went on to work at Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Méo-Camuzet, Bouchard Père & Fils, picking up plenty of valuable experience at these prestigious domaines before she joined Maison Jaffelin and has been hard at work creating these 'handmade' wines for our enjoyment ever since.

Jaffelin uses grapes coming from plots all over Burgundy, bringing them into their town-centre winery to be sorted by hand at a 3 metre long sorting table. Some of these vineyard plots are in smaller towns that you may not have heard of (Rully, Santenay, Monthélie, Fixin) but others come from the best known
and most widely recognised villages (Beaune, Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle Musigny.)

Due to their provenance from a variety of plots, Maison Jaffelin is able to produce quite a wide range of wines, which it divides into four categories:

The Chapitres- top of the range, some of the best wines that Burgundy has to buy
The Villages - Seven each of red and white that focus on highlighting the different Burgundy terroirs
The Paradis - Seven Premier Cru wines, two whites, and five reds; once again exploring the best of the Burgundy terroirs
The Crémants - sparkling wines: one white, one rosé

Last but not least, their cellars are well worth a mention. When talking about wine-making - European at least - we so often return to our good friends, the monks, and Maison Jaffelin is no different. The cellars in which all of their vinification takes place are underneath the Collégiale Notre Dame de Beaune (a church) and would have at one point stored all the wine for the the Collégiale and the Cardinals. Although there is no longer a religious connection, and the cellars underwent a full renovation in 2004, it is still pleasant to imagine the wines resting in the monastic tranquility of the Chapitre’s cellars. just as they did have done for hundreds of years.

But less about the monks for now... shall we explore the wines?

Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru Les Duresses
A brilliant ruby red colour, this premier cru Pinot Noir is extremely expressive on the nose, featuring red berries and some sweet oak. It is a gentle wine with a rounded palate and a bit of acidity that picks out the fresh red berry flavours. It has a touch of tannin on the finish, but not aggressive.

Bourgogne Chardonnay 2018, Les Chapitres de Jaffelin, AOC Bourgognes
Bright, generous, rich with ripe citrus and a hint of nectarine. A wonderful teaser as to why we all get so excited by Chardonnay and, in particular, Chardonnay from the Côte d’Or.

Bourgogne Pinot Noir Les Chapitres de Jaffelin
Another bright ruby red Pinot Noir, once again with crunchy red fruit immediately on the nose. It's a powerful wine, made supple on the palate with smooth, coated tannins, and oak and fruit perfectly balanced.

Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes
Gevrey-Chambertin is the largest wine-producing village in Burgundy’s Côte d'Or, and the style can often be deeper in colour, firmer in body and more tannic than a lot of red Burgundy. This wine does indeed have a very generous weight, textured with strawberries, blackberries, cherries and sweet spice and pepper. The Pinot Noir is distinct, and the finish shows smooth, fine tannins - accentuated by a hint of buttered toast. This would be perfect next to some game, rib of beef, braised lamb, or strong cheeses such as Epoisses and Cîteaux.

Meursault 2017
Meursault is one of the most famous names in Burgundy, and known for some of its greatest white wines. It tends to have a little more buttered-toast than its neighbour Pulilgny-Montrachet, and so the trick is always to make sure you have enough freshness to balance the deeper, riper fruit flavours, sweet spice and nuts (grilled almonds). Marinette has pulled this off perfectly here, resulting in a very generous, almost opulent wine with exceptional balance, power and poise.

Rully
Rully is a smaller village, located in the Côte Chalonnaise, and produces wines which are expressive and pleasant to drink young. This is a beautiful golden colour with green tints, and very expressive on the nose - both fruity and floral. Straightforward on entry to the palate and showing tropical fruit on the finish, this would go well with grilled fish, poultry, or a hard cheeses like Comté.

Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravieres
Les Gravières: this great “climat” owes its name to the fact that it is located on land that is rich in gravel, pebbles and limestone sand from the Saint Aubin Valley. This wine is fruity and rich, with a lovely blackcurrant expression on the nose, and a long finish.

And if all of this has you hankering for Burgundy, then we would encourage you to consider attending our Brilliance from Burgundy wine dinneron the 3rd November... Tickets are on sale now.