2020 Louis Jadot, Beaune 1er Cru Celebration, 6x750ml
Louis Jadot's Beaune 1er Cru Celebration is a wine of finesse and elegance that will age beautifully for decades, and offersincredible value. It is only made in the best red Beaune vintages, first in 2009, followed by vintages 2012, 2015, 2018 and now the 2020.
Availability: 4 weeks
Case size: 6 / Bottle size: 750ml
Duty Status
From £195.00
Critics Score: 92
Publication: William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Drinking Dates: 2025-2043
There are some 3,500 cases of the 2020 Beaune 1er Cru Célébration (Maison Louis Jadot), a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and seamless wine evocative of smoky berries, spices and licorice, framed by creamy new oak. More polished and elegant than the muscular 2018, the last rendition of this bottling (which blends more than a dozen of Beaune's premiers crus), it will offer a broad drinking window.
Maison Louis Jadot’s home is in the picturesque town of Beaune, an appellation with 337 hectares of premier cru vineyards, each offering significant stylistic diversity, and this wine is a beautiful representation of the Beaune terroir. Beaune Premier Cru Célébration’s Pinot Noir blend is based on a number of different climats, whose names are featured on the front label:
Clos des Ursules, Boucherottes, Cras, Clos des Couchereaux, Bressandes, Theurons, Greves, Belissand, Chouacheux, Cent Vignes, Toussaints, Vignes Franches, Pertuisots, Aigrots, Clos du Roi
Vintage:
Winter 2019-20 was, once again, extremely mild, particularly in February. It was also a dry winter, throughout the period of January to March. Nevertheless, the last few months of 2019 brought enough rainfall to replenish the water reserves in the soils. This mild weather continued throughout March, and in the more sheltered areas vegetative growth was seen very early on, towards the end of March. The first days of April were cooler, and helped to slow the pace of growth slightly, but things picked up again during the last half of the month, when temperatures rose to around 25°C. These unusual spring conditions are key to understanding the unusual nature of this vintage as the plants were able to synthesize high levels of organic acids.
May brought some rainfall, which allowed the vines to continue their growth uninterrupted. Full flowering took place towards the end of May and the beginning of June, and the berries swelled rapidly despite the general lack of rainfall. The vines were able to get sufficient water from the reserves laid down in the soil during the winter months. Growth was not entirely even across the region, or even the grape varieties, but we can broadly generalize that it was around three weeks ahead of schedule by midway through flowering point in all of our vineyards, relative to the previous year. The dry conditions meant that there was little concern over fungal diseases before summer arrived.
Summer announced itself with the first hints of veraison right at the start of July. Burgundy sweltered through several heatwaves. The extremely dry weather slowed the pace of veraison by the end of July, particularly among the vines carrying the heaviest weight of bunches. Nevertheless, by the end of July, veraison had more or less passed the midway point, and the leaves remained green. The vines were coping well with the conditions. The slopes were hit by a further heatwave in mid-August, and the more fragile plants began showing signs of hydric stress, with a yellowing at the base of their leaves. Veraison finished, despite the lack of rainfall, and ripening accelerated. The dry weather concentrated the berries, and no rainfall was expected before the end of August. The grapes were very healthy, with no trace of mildew or rot, but they would have to finish ripening without further rainfall.
Louis Jadot began harvesting the earliest Pinot Noir sectors (Volnay, Meursault, Beaune, Savigny) on 19 August. Finally, a few showers brought some respite towards the end of August. The harvest was finished by the start of a warm, summery September. In terms of yields, the reds were at around the same level as in 2019, which is to say around two thirds of a normal harvest.
Clos des Ursules, Boucherottes, Cras, Clos des Couchereaux, Bressandes, Theurons, Greves, Belissand, Chouacheux, Cent Vignes, Toussaints, Vignes Franches, Pertuisots, Aigrots, Clos du Roi
Vintage:
Winter 2019-20 was, once again, extremely mild, particularly in February. It was also a dry winter, throughout the period of January to March. Nevertheless, the last few months of 2019 brought enough rainfall to replenish the water reserves in the soils. This mild weather continued throughout March, and in the more sheltered areas vegetative growth was seen very early on, towards the end of March. The first days of April were cooler, and helped to slow the pace of growth slightly, but things picked up again during the last half of the month, when temperatures rose to around 25°C. These unusual spring conditions are key to understanding the unusual nature of this vintage as the plants were able to synthesize high levels of organic acids.
May brought some rainfall, which allowed the vines to continue their growth uninterrupted. Full flowering took place towards the end of May and the beginning of June, and the berries swelled rapidly despite the general lack of rainfall. The vines were able to get sufficient water from the reserves laid down in the soil during the winter months. Growth was not entirely even across the region, or even the grape varieties, but we can broadly generalize that it was around three weeks ahead of schedule by midway through flowering point in all of our vineyards, relative to the previous year. The dry conditions meant that there was little concern over fungal diseases before summer arrived.
Summer announced itself with the first hints of veraison right at the start of July. Burgundy sweltered through several heatwaves. The extremely dry weather slowed the pace of veraison by the end of July, particularly among the vines carrying the heaviest weight of bunches. Nevertheless, by the end of July, veraison had more or less passed the midway point, and the leaves remained green. The vines were coping well with the conditions. The slopes were hit by a further heatwave in mid-August, and the more fragile plants began showing signs of hydric stress, with a yellowing at the base of their leaves. Veraison finished, despite the lack of rainfall, and ripening accelerated. The dry weather concentrated the berries, and no rainfall was expected before the end of August. The grapes were very healthy, with no trace of mildew or rot, but they would have to finish ripening without further rainfall.
Louis Jadot began harvesting the earliest Pinot Noir sectors (Volnay, Meursault, Beaune, Savigny) on 19 August. Finally, a few showers brought some respite towards the end of August. The harvest was finished by the start of a warm, summery September. In terms of yields, the reds were at around the same level as in 2019, which is to say around two thirds of a normal harvest.
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