2017 Domaine Philippe Jouan, Coteaux Bourguignons “Cuvée Thomas” Pinot Noir, Vieilles Vignes, Red Burgundy, France.
I had high expectations for this one and it lived up to the hype, maybe even surpassing my hopes, with a classic Cote de Nuits profile and a silky smooth palate that delivered beautiful red fruits, pretty floral aromatics, delicate earthiness and an array of spice and mineral tones in a pure medium weight wine. There’s a expressive layering of black cherry, raspberry, currant and strawberry fruits, hints pf rose oil, truffle, baking spices, subtle oak influence and candied orange all of which feels seamless and complete, this exactly what you’d want from a youthful Burgundy. Philippe Jouan has really impressed me with his 2017s and I am excited to see what the 2020s are like, hopefully I’ll be able to track some bottles down. This is a winery, based in Morey-Saint-Denis and run by Phillipe Jouan, a fifth generation winemaker, to follow, and this Cuvée Thomas is a great way to start.
The talented Philippe Jouan, who, as mentioned here in prior reviews, took over from his father Henri, has been in charge of this small high quality domaine since 2004 and has turned this some what under the radar winery into something of an enthusiasts cult label. The techniques in the cellar, from what I understand, are little changed since the domaine started, with Philippe using 100% de-stemmed (all sustainably grown) grapes, cool fermentation(s) and employing just a minimal amount of new wood across his range of wines. The Jouan wines are not as inexpensive as they once were, with prices now rising 10 to 20% with each of the last few vintages releases, but still are remarkable values for the price. Mainly it is the problem of having less wine available due to tighter yields in the region and that there is a much bigger demand for Jouan now. I had been told that Jouan’s Passetoutgrain (Pinot Noir/Gamay) and this Coteaux Bourguignons (100% Pinot Noir) were the screaming deals, and as mentioned, I was not disappointed in any way here.
($38 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive