Description
Jean-Baptiste Jessiaume, Bourgogne Chardonnay
Think of today’s wine like you do your favorite pair of jeans: always in style, works with everything, makes you look and feel good. What more could you ask for from a bottle of wine? I suppose you could ask for an exceptional vintage, too—and in 2019 you’ve got one.
As someone whose “things I can’t live without” list starts with an affordable, impressive white Burgundy to have readily at hand, the arrival of Jean-Baptiste Jessiaume’s 2019 Bourgogne Chardonnay was an exciting moment: We imported it directly, and it was even better than we remembered. The level of concentration (thanks to ideal conditions in ’19) is the first thing you notice, but then there’s the balancing freshness and mineral finish. If it weren’t clearly stated on the label I’d have a hard time believing this was “just” a Bourgogne Chardonnay. If you love white Burgundy, having a bunch of these bottles stocked and ready to go is to be ready for anything. We’ve got enough to go around, so have at it!
There’s no doubt the name Jessiaume will be familiar to Burgundy lovers. The family has roots in the Côte de Beaune village of Santenay dating to the 1830s. Jean-Baptiste, representing the sixth generation, grew up watching his father, Marc, make wine, and the two continued to run Jessiaume for several years after selling the estate in 2006. The pair later moved down to Bouzeron in the Côte Chalonnaise to take over Domaine Chanzy, and following that, Jean-Baptiste—who received “Young Winemaker of the Year” honors from Burghound’s Allen Meadows in 2012—set up his own micro-négociant shop back in Santenay. Blessed with impeccable vineyard sources in the Côte de Beaune and Chalonnaise both, the Jean-Baptiste Jessiaume lineup has grown to include a huge range of small-production bottlings.
Today’s Bourgogne Chardonnay is the perfect introduction to a boutique producer on the rise. Crafted from hand-harvested fruit, it was barrel-fermented and aged in a mix of large oak vats and smaller barrels, and yet the oak, even at this young stage, is not dominant. The wine is textured but crystalline, creamy and citrusy, flashy but classic—in short, everything you could ask for in a Burgundy Chardonnay. I would suspect it comes from old vines, in that it exhibits great concentration but also refreshing, natural acidity. It shines a pale yellow-gold in the glass moving to a silvery rim, with aromas of yellow apple, white peach, citrus, acacia flowers, créme frâiche, crushed chalk, and some light oak spice. It is medium-plus in body and already singing after a few minutes of being open, so don’t worry about laying it down (even though you could). This is the full, crystalline white Burgundy package, perfect for serving with your go-to roast chicken recipe or richer seafood like lobster, seared scallops, or halibut. Try the attached pasta recipe with this wine—it’ll look like something you just “threw together,” which will make it that much more impressive. Enjoy!
