Château des Jacques - Moulin-à-Vent Clos de Rochegrès 2021

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

The estate, owned by Louis Jadot of Beaune but managed independently, has grown significantly since its acquisition in 1996. The vineyard spans 90 hectares, primarily consisting of Moulin-à-Vent vineyards, a region in which the estate 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 continues the tradition of excellence established more than fifteen years ago.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the estate:

Is the 2018 vintage the finest wine produced to date at Château des Jacques under Jadot’s leadership? That is certainly the question I asked myself while tasting these new releases, and Cyril Chirouze and his team deserve the warmest praise for what they have accomplished. When Jadot acquired this vast historic estate in 1996, the winemaking process was reimagined with a Burgundian focus, introducing destemming, long macerations, new oak, and extended aging. To my palate, the oak component of the wines was sometimes too pronounced, even with bottle aging; and that is why these 2018s stand out: they are quite simply the best-integrated wines I have tasted from Château des Jacques between 1996 and today. Deep, concentrated, and elegantly robust—after all, 2018 was a hot year—these are serious wines, built for cellaring, and I am truly 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 the wine:

Clos de Rochegrès retains its light and delicate style, while maintaining the characteristic richness of the 2021 vintage.

About the estate:

Since its acquisition in 1996 by the Beaujolais-based Louis Jadot, the estate has fully embraced the house style, and “Les Jacques” has emerged as a model of a Beaujolais wine meant for aging, while continuing to draw on Burgundian methods. Following the era of Guillaume de Castelnau (director from 2000 to 2014), Pierre-Henri Gagey handed the reins back to Cyril Chirouze in 2016—an agricultural engineer and oenologist who had previously worked as a winemaker there from 2007 to 2013. The single-vineyard wines require a minimum of five years of aging to fully express the character of their terroir. It is clear that the transition to organic farming and the construction of the new winery have marked a new milestone in the definition of these wines. We will be following this progress closely.

Jancis Robinson

James Suckling

About the wine:

The deep blueberry aroma draws you into this remarkably ripe and beautifully balanced 2021 Moulin-à-Vent, which has everything we look for in single-vineyard wines from this appellation. The attack is supple, followed by an abundance of fine tannins on the long, velvety finish, where a certain minerality reminiscent of crushed stone comes through. Ready to drink now or for aging.