JASPER MORRIS 2020

JASPER MORRIS

MILLÉSIME 2020

 That effervescent bundle of energy, Jean-Pierre Guyon, never stops evolving his ideas. He has joined those who no longer hedge their vines, but has devised his own system that enables him to do so without having to go to high trellising. At harvest time, as well as his pickers, he has a team of 25 on the sorting table whose many job is to ‘decorticate’ the whole bunches by hand. This means removing the main stem and snipping off little groups of berries which just have the small stems remaining. Both this and the trellising were started in 2020 and used 100% in 2021. Jean-Pierre finds that this decortication releases mineral salts.
Having picked his whites in late August, Jean-Pierre waited until 9th September to start in on his reds. Yields were a relatively generous 30-35 hl/ha, and alcohol levels mostly 13.5-14% though some were higher. He uses no sulphur but makes sure that the fermentations are underway within 12 hours of picking, to avoid spoilage. Total cuvaison was 22 days, with no stuck fermentations. The wines, which qualify as vins naturs as they have less than 10ppm of free sulphur, were still in barrel, unracked, which was due to happen in December for bottling in February-March. Samples taken from all the barrels had been prepared in advance. The whites had been racked to tank.
So after all this preamble, what did I think of the wines? I do like the whole bunch approach but I am less keen on late picking, and Jean-Pierre was one of the last to start. I though this was not the best decision while tasting the more junior wines, but once we got settled into Vosne-Romanée I could see the charm appearing – and when we reached the top of the range I was totally wone over. Jean-Pierre Guyon has produced some of the most astonishingly brilliant wines of his career, fit to rival any other producer.

White

Côteaux bourguignons 85-86

Mid lemon yellow. A bit of fresh apricot, a bit of plum, yellow fruit with good acidity, a slight waxiness, fair acidity. An early gulper. Tasted: November 2021

Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Argillats 90-92

Pinot Blanc, picked on 28th August. Full mid yellow with just a suggestion of green. An Interesting complex nose, ripe but fresh enough with some aromatic subtleties from the pinot. A little touch of fennel rather than liquorice, much livelier than the Coteaux Bourguignons. Opens out well on the palate, more floral but with some flesh too. Tasted: November 2021

Morey-Saint-Denis La Bidaude 91-93

Picked on the same day as the Nuits-St-Georges which is rare. This is a bit serious on the nose: “mon petit Bâtard” says Jean-Pierre. This Morey wants to be sultry but stays fresh, with some iodine. A few peaches and even a strawberry touch but these are just at the edge because the core remain fresh apple. Crisp with riper tones. Tasted: November 2021

Red

Bourgogne Pinot Noir 85-87

Huge heady nose, as purple as the colour. Really heady and perfumed with plenty of whole bunch white pepper. The fruit continues through to the back, even a little overt freshness. Pretty powerful stuff – 15.2% alcohol, albeit partially refreshed by the whole bunches. Tasted: November 2021

Chorey-les-Beaune Les Bons Ores 85-88

Partly picked early and partly late, averaging out at 14%. Incredibly rich purple in colour. Inkily powerful I note as Jean-Pierre offers the opinion that this is vin digeste, and I am worried that he is losing the thread as I see the power more than the digestibility. Black fruit, powerful raspberry, a touch volatile as well as saline. But perhaps more saline. Not digeste though. Tasted: November 2021

Savigny-les-Beaune Les Peuillets 1er Cru 87-90

100% decorticated (see intro for explanation). Black purple. Hyper-ethereal bouquet says Jean-Pierre, I find it just rather heavy – at first! I love however the sensuality which develops, not too whole bunch and there are waves and waves of flavour, before this goes into a treacly black fruit. He thinks finesse and the fine touch of the tannins and is probably right, but I don’t want this amount of ripeness in the fruit profile. It is either a two star or a four star wine really. Tasted: November 2021

Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Herbues 90-93

More purple than black in colour, and retaining a certain freshness at the finish. Starts very well in red fruit then adds a blacker raspberry aspect followed by the white pepper. Intriguing and rather delicious. Even finishes in floral style, with a minor key of liquorice. Tasted: November 2021

Gevrey-Chambertin Les Platières 90-92

Complete ripe purple with crimson rim. Whole bunch wins over excess ripeness, indeed this is all red fruit with a little bit of cherry and strawberry, but not too lush. Indeed, the red fruit is perfectly balanced on the palate, light on its feet, white pepper finish, very good. Stays on very nicely in the aftertaste. Tasted: November 2021

5 star wine

Vosne-Romanée 92-94

Purple colour, vibrant yet deep. The bouquet is very interesting as it flirts with different levels of ripeness while delivering something recognisably Vosne and highly qualitative. Floral, violets and the rosiest of roses, a darker spice rather than white pepper, fills out the back of the palate beautifully. Once again the nuanced waves of flavour flood across the palate, perfectly on the cusp of red and black, yet with extraordinary concentration. Tasted: November 2021

5 star wine
Vosne-Romanée Charmes de Mazières 93-96

100% decorticated. Brilliant dense purple in colour, breathtaking on first sniff ! This is ethereal and powerful too. All in red fruit and pure roses. The lightest white pepper. Sensual ripe red raspberry. Incredible intensity, and the fruit waves itself on to the end of the palate. Some tannins, intense white pepper, joyous red fruit notes. This needs lots more time before thinking of bottling. Tasted: November 2021

Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées 1er Cru 93-96

100% decorticated. Very dark purple. Bizarre nose, I need to get inside this. There’s a bit of linseed a bit of smoke, here is a veritable Brûlées. Very tense dense dark fruit, this is such a baby that I don’t think we are getting it all. Largely red but with an overlay of velvety black fruit, real intensity, suavity and length. Certainly these are ripe wines but the stems can carry them. Tasted: November 2021

5 star wine

Vosne-Romanée En Orveaux 1er Cru 94-96

100% decorticated Hugely dark dense purple. Sweetly dark bright ripe fruit. All the colours of the rainbow. Then so powerful behind which sort of isn’t typical of Orveaux but doesn’t matter. Absolutely hits the sweet spot between red and black fruit, a little sucrosity behind, yet so far away from being approachable. The aftertaste certainly suggests that this will follow through. Tasted: November 2021

Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 95-97

Only 30% decorticated as this was the last picked and the team had had enough – but makes an interesting contrast with the others. More purple than black in colour. Still has some rose petals which cannot be common in Clos Vougeot! Super deep with some liquorice behind where the fruit darkens, but up front and on the nose it is more dark raspberry and redcurrant. Not quite so fine tannins when not fully decorticated, it would seem. But a huge follow through. If it were not for the utter brilliance of the Echezeaux, I might score this even higher! Tasted: November 2021

5 star wine

Echezeaux Grand Cru 97-100

First picked, 100% decorticated. “This is the best wine I have made in my life”. Rich noble imperial purple. All right, team, this really is it! “Tu le bois avec le nez, you drink it with your nose”. No question here. This completely works as there is not the slightest sensation of cooked fruit. No spitting. I don’t know what to say. Actually I was just formulating the words that this is the finest Echezeaux I have tasted in my life when Jean-Pierre interrupted to say that Michel Bettane thought the same! An intensely seductive lush red velvet fruit covering an entirely perfect bone structure. Tasted: November 2021