Table of Contents

Background information


NOTE FROM EDITOR (DON CORNWELL): Jadot appears to have made a distinct change in its winemaking with respect to its whites beginning in the year 2000. As indicated below in the notes on each vintage, there is a very low incidence of premox among the Jadot wines produced in 1995, 1996 and 1999. However, beginning with the 2000 vintage, Jadot has a very significant incidence of premox. This has also been borne out in our annual vintage assessment/oxidation check dinners. One of the individuals who has participated in most of those annual dinners opened a series of 2002 and 2004 Jadot whites from his cellar and found them all oxidized. So he wrote an email to Jadot complaining. He received a response from Olivier Masmondet, Jadot's Export and Sales Director, dated December 10, 2010, stating as follows (Note the highlighted language)

“Dear Sir,

Thank you for your message. I have been informed of your comment on the Kobrand website.

It is never pleasant to get involved in such experience and I’d like to let you know that we are sorry and we feel disappointed as well.

Atypical ageing evolution has been taken extremely seriously and be assured that our winemaker is fighting it with all his weight and energy. In Burgundy, this is not our style to stand still and we are fighting this all together.

It is also true that consumer taste has changed and we want white wines to be ready right the way. Most of us want a white wine of 2 years to taste like a white wine of 10 years. We truly hope that not a single producer in Burgundy will be affected by this issue again, but as you certainly have read in the press, on certain wine blogs or web site there are many causes to the Atypical ageing evolution. We all wish here in Burgundy to find the solution to it.

This is also true that wine is not perfect science.

If you find yourself in Burgundy we will be very happy to welcome you at our winery and to taste together the new vintage.

Sincerely,

Olivier

Olivier Masmondet
Maison Louis Jadot
21 Rue Spuller
21200 Beaune
Tel: +33-3- 80-22-10-57
omasmondet@louisjadot.com

I will note for the record that Olivier Masmondet has pointed out to me that English is his second language and he states that he did not mean to suggest in the email that Jadot has changed its wine-making style to intentionally make a faster-aging wine.

From my perspective, regardless of whether Jadot intended it to happen or not, the Jadot wines from the vintage 2000 and on are radically different than their pre-2000 vintage counterparts. Prior to 2000, Jadot's oxidation performance would place it in Category V (producers who have no higher incidence of premox after 1994 than they did before.) But from vintage 2000 on, Jadot is a Category I producer and, in my opinion, has the single worst premox performance of any burgundy producer over that period. So buyer beware!

Notes on batonnage and techniques in various vintages:

Wines

1986

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993


1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

**2002**

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

**2009**

2010