Jean Grivot
About Domaine Jean Grivot
Domaine Jean Grivot is today one of Burgundy's true icons, under the talented stewardship of the fifth generation of Grivots, this is a Domaine that shows its full pedigree vintage after vintage. Domaine Jean Grivot is one of the very first Burgundian Domaines to bottle and sell wine under their own name in the 1930s, the Grivot family’s roots run almost as deep as their vines’ in the region.
Etienne and his wife Marielle took over from his late father, the eponymous Jean, in the early 1980s. The style of the wine under Jean was perfectly refined and elegant, but somewhat lacking in depth and richness, especially in lesser vintages. The terrible vintage of 1994 was something of a blessing in disguise for the estate – it allowed Etienne to find his voice and, through necessity as much as anything, develop a bolder and more generous style of wine with real profundity.
Viniculture
Well into his stride of crafting a range of sensational wines, the 15 hectare Domaine is consistently one of the most sought after and critically acclaimed names in Burgundy. The Grivot vines are on average a considerable 50 years old, spread across some of the finest vineyards in Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-St-Georges. Aside from completely destemming the grapes, Etienne favours a very low intervention style of winemaking, claiming to favour the “spiritual” (natural fermentation) to the “physical” (punching down etc.).
Somewhat averse to the gushing praise heaped upon him, Etienne says of his success: “There’s no recipe; it’s very personal. As a result it’s very frustrating as one’s never content”.
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Vinous (92-94)
The 2019 Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Boudots 1er Cru is gentler on the nose compared to the Pruliers, scents of wild strawberry, raspberry, crushed limestone and light ferrous aromas unfolding from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with quite a sweet entry. This has a lot of sucrosity and energy. Powerful and vivacious toward the saline finish, which reveals touches of boysenberry and black cherries and lingers for 45 seconds. Superb.HK$12,000.00 -
Wine Advocate (92-94)
The 2014 Nuits St Georges 1er Cru les Pruliers was much more backward on the nose compared to the 2014 les Roncières when I tasted it at the domaine; this is broody and a bit sulky at the moment. The palate is more expressive with fine, saturated tannin. The new oak is a little more prominent here and will need time to be absorbed, but there is plenty of fruité and density on the finish; plus there is tangible mineralité and indeed, spiciness on the finish that has more concentration than Etienne Grivot's other Nuits-Saint-Georges. Superb.HK$7,503.00 -
Burghound (91-93)
As it should, this presently has an entirely different aromatic profile with its ripe and fresh combination of earth and sauvage characters together with both red and dark currant scents. Here too there is really lovely mouth feel to the tautly muscular flavors that exude a subtle minerality on the energetic, detailed and beautifully persistent finish. This is also admirably seamless and should amply reward extended keeping.HK$12,000.00