Château des Jacques - Moulin-à-Vent La Rochelle 2015

Bettane & Desseauve

About wine:

A well-rounded wine that combines all the qualities of its neighbors: elegance, power, and delicacy. Very smooth on the palate. Classy.

About the estate:

The estate, owned by Beaune-based Louis Jadot but managed independently, has grown considerably since its acquisition in 1996. The vineyard covers 90 hectares, mainly in Moulin-à-Vent, of which it is one of the leading specialists. It owns plots in the best areas such as Rochegrès, La Roche, Carquelins and, more recently, La Rochelle. Cyril Chirouze is continuing the work of excellence begun more than fifteen years ago.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the estate:

Is the 2018 vintage the finest produced to date at Château des Jacques under Jadot's management? That is certainly the question I asked myself when tasting these new wines, and Cyril Chirouze and his team deserve the warmest praise for what they have achieved. When Jadot acquired this vast historic property in 1996, the winemaking process was redesigned with a Burgundian emphasis, introducing destemming, long maceration, new wood, and extended aging. To my palate, the woody component of the wines was sometimes too prominent, even with bottle age; and that is why these 2018s stand out: they are simply the best-integrated wines I have tasted from Château des Jacques between 1996 and today. Deep, concentrated, and elegantly muscular—after all, 2018 was a hot year—these are serious wines, built for the cellar, and I am very optimistic about their future. All the wines reviewed here come highly recommended.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About wine:

This juicy wine has a beautiful fruity dimension, underscored by elegant oak notes. The velvety, silky palate is well-structured without being excessive. The texture remains easy to drink and the finish is taut.

About the estate:

Since its acquisition in 1996 by the Beaune-based Louis Jadot, the estate's signature style has been fully established and "Les Jacques" shines as a model of Beaujolais for aging, while continuing to rely on Burgundian methods. After the Guillaume de Castelnau era (director from 2000 to 2014), Pierre-Henri Gagey handed over the reins in 2016 to Cyril Chirouze, an agricultural engineer and oenologist who had been making wine there between 2007 and 2013. The single-vineyard wines require a minimum of five years of aging to fully express the identity of their terroir. It is clear that the transition to organic farming and the construction of the new winery have enabled the estate to reach a new milestone in the definition of its wines. We will be following this progress closely.