Amazing Value: 2020 Domaine Lejeune 'Les Grandes Carelles' Bourgogne Rouge
Our very first 2020 Burgundy, and boy is it a treat!
Domaine Lejeune is quickly becoming a favorite Burgundian producer of ours. This small family estate is producing top-notch wines out of Pommard.
The 2020 Domaine Lejeune 'Les Grandes Carelles' is an entry level Bourgogne Rouge unlike any other. This Pinot Noir was made using fruit from a 1er Cru vineyard but features a Bourgogne-level price tag. Crazy, right?
This is a rarity. While most producers would label this a Pommard and cost an additional $30 per bottle, winemaker Aubert Lefas chose not to. Which benefits wine lovers like us! You see Aubert's strict and elevated standards put this wine's 25-year-old vines just outside his Pommard label requirements. Now, this is a man with high standards.
To put into context many wineries in Napa start replanting vineyards at around 30 years because they (the wineries) believe the vines are too old. This is blasphemy to all Fench winemakers, especially ones in Burgundy. As vines get older they begin to produce higher quality fruit with fewer bunches available (quality > quantity). Less fruit in Napa means less money. But in Burgundy, the standard for quality is so high that vines that reach 90+ years of age are praised (and they produce the best wines).
So here we are reaping the benefits all because of a difference in priorities, and when I say reaping the benefits, there is plenty to reap here. The 2020 vintage has so far been showing very well with layers of developed fruit, savory aromatics, and a luscious palate to boot.
This wine is ready to drink right now, but if you would like to lay your bottles down for a couple of years, the Pommard quality fruit provides the necessary structure for this wine to live a long life. We only have a small handful of these bottles so if you are into luscious red Burg that you can open any day of the week, do not sleep on this!
Leave a comment (all fields required)
Comments will be approved before showing up.
