The 2010 Beaune Greves is layered with expressive mineral notes that frame a huge, explosive core of dark red fruit. Menthol, spices and licorice develop in the glass, adding further complexity and nuance. Today the tannins are a bit rough around the edges, but there is also impressive concentration and depth in the fruit. If the wine finds its balance, it might merit a higher score down the road. I tasted an amazing range of 2010 reds at Jadot with long-term winemaker Jacques Lardiere and his successor Frederic Barnier. In order to make this large section of the report easier to read, I have broken up the wines into the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits. Lardiere and Barnier told me they were quite worried about the prospects for the harvest upon their return from summer vacations in August, but the year was saved by a perfect September. Yields are down 25-50% because of the frost and cold weather earlier in the year, but overall quality is very high. Lardiere and Barnier also noted that early on it appeared that there would be a wide gap in quality between the Cote de Beaune and the Cote de Nuits, but over time that gap narrowed to some extent. Still, there is little question the vintage was more challenging in the Cote de Beaune because of a rainier summer and overall higher precipitation throughout the year.Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7756

The Jadot 2008 Beaune Greves smells of cedar, ripe purple plum, and underbrush. Bright more sweetly suggestive in its ripeness than many a Beaune cru of its vintage, as well as fleshier, it projects pungent smokiness and lip-smacking salinity in its long finish. Here are the virtues of the vintage without any too-lean or –tart aspects, and a wine that I predict will prove especially versatile over the next 7-10 years. Jacques Lardiere reported that selection to remove grapes tainted with rot had to be rigorous in both 2007 and 2008, but that the task was more onerous in 2008, and especially in the Cote de Beaune. A substantial share of the triage in the Cote de Nuits, he noted, was for the sake or removing under-ripe berries, and in the end less than one degree of chaptalization took place with any Jadot 2008 or 2007 red. Given the biodynamic methods now employed here, anti-botryticides are anathema, which would, one suspects, have enhanced the challenges presented in both years, but especially in 2007. The best Jadot 2008s – many of which did not finish malo until after the 2009 harvest – possess energy and sheer refreshment, if occasionally accompanied by slightly abrasive tannins and aggressive acids. What’s more, these 2008s are for the most part (by Cote d’Or standards) value-priced. The higher-priced 2007s – about which Lardiere waxed enthusiastic early in their evolution – frequently wanted somewhat for focus; sweetness of fruit; or distinctive personalities, with the exceptions being, sadly for consumers, among the most expensive crus. While Jadot’s Cote de Beaune 2007s were harvested earlier and vinified more cautiously due to their more precarious condition than were the corresponding Cote de Nuits lots, I found worrisome astringency creeping into some of the latter, and not the sort that I expect to dissipate. Fans of Clos des Ursules who maintain a vertical collection should be aware that the team here elected to bottle the small amount of 2007 (which I did not taste) exclusively in magnum. Given the extremely reasonable pricing of Jadot wines in recent years – owned by their importer, they no doubt enjoy a unique degree of flexibility thanks to vertical integration – the many excellent Jadot 2005s (for cellaring) and 2006s that remain in the marketplace are where I would look for some of Burgundy’s best Pinot values. None of the Jadot 2008s were bottled before March, but I re-tasted some of them in late April after they had been bottled, which explains the presence of limited non-parenthetic ratings. The extent of declassification or anticipated declassification in the interest of quality in 2008 spoke volumes about Jadot’s quality-consciousness, but rendered a few of the samples I tasted – even last April –indicative of vintage quality here as a whole, rather only vaguely indicative of the wines that would eventually be bottled under a given village-designated label. For example, I tasted a village Pommard representative of an assemblage of 60 barrels, but into this Lardiere planned to blend no fewer than 20-25 barrels from assorted Pommard premier crus. There will also be a village Beaune for the U.S. market, incidentally, assembled from barrels of premier cru, but also not yet assembled when I tasted.Importer: Kobrand, Inc., New York, NY; tel.(212) 490-9300

The Jadot 2007 Beaune Greves is alluringly scented with fresh cherry, almond, kirsch, and roasted chestnut. Juicy and mouth-filling, but with its chestnut element supplying a lovely sense of underlying richness and a smoky note intrigue, this tender Pinot should prove delicious for at least the next 3-4 years. Jacques Lardiere reported that selection to remove grapes tainted with rot had to be rigorous in both 2007 and 2008, but that the task was more onerous in 2008, and especially in the Cote de Beaune. A substantial share of the triage in the Cote de Nuits, he noted, was for the sake or removing under-ripe berries, and in the end less than one degree of chaptalization took place with any Jadot 2008 or 2007 red. Given the biodynamic methods now employed here, anti-botryticides are anathema, which would, one suspects, have enhanced the challenges presented in both years, but especially in 2007. The best Jadot 2008s – many of which did not finish malo until after the 2009 harvest – possess energy and sheer refreshment, if occasionally accompanied by slightly abrasive tannins and aggressive acids. What’s more, these 2008s are for the most part (by Cote d’Or standards) value-priced. The higher-priced 2007s – about which Lardiere waxed enthusiastic early in their evolution – frequently wanted somewhat for focus; sweetness of fruit; or distinctive personalities, with the exceptions being, sadly for consumers, among the most expensive crus. While Jadot’s Cote de Beaune 2007s were harvested earlier and vinified more cautiously due to their more precarious condition than were the corresponding Cote de Nuits lots, I found worrisome astringency creeping into some of the latter, and not the sort that I expect to dissipate. Fans of Clos des Ursules who maintain a vertical collection should be aware that the team here elected to bottle the small amount of 2007 (which I did not taste) exclusively in magnum. Given the extremely reasonable pricing of Jadot wines in recent years – owned by their importer, they no doubt enjoy a unique degree of flexibility thanks to vertical integration – the many excellent Jadot 2005s (for cellaring) and 2006s that remain in the marketplace are where I would look for some of Burgundy’s best Pinot values. None of the Jadot 2008s were bottled before March, but I re-tasted some of them in late April after they had been bottled, which explains the presence of limited non-parenthetic ratings. The extent of declassification or anticipated declassification in the interest of quality in 2008 spoke volumes about Jadot’s quality-consciousness, but rendered a few of the samples I tasted – even last April –indicative of vintage quality here as a whole, rather only vaguely indicative of the wines that would eventually be bottled under a given village-designated label. For example, I tasted a village Pommard representative of an assemblage of 60 barrels, but into this Lardiere planned to blend no fewer than 20-25 barrels from assorted Pommard premier crus. There will also be a village Beaune for the U.S. market, incidentally, assembled from barrels of premier cru, but also not yet assembled when I tasted.Importer: Kobrand, Inc., New York, NY; tel.(212) 490-9300