I remember the morning in early 2019 when I got a text from Antoine Jobard in Meursault, urgently asking if I could talk. He had found an opportunity—one that he had been waiting for patiently ever since he and his father, François, made the painful decision to rip out their Pinot Noir vines in Blagny, after the 2006 vintage. Blagny, high on the hill above Puligny and Meursault, is a great site for growing Chardonnay, as the fine Meursault-Blagny from the Jobards so adequately attests. Its marne soils make an inimitable red as well, but it was, in those days anyway, at the limit of consistently being able to ripen grapes. Antoine dreamed of finding and acquiring other vineyards for producing red Burgundy in the future, and he had a lot of time to consider the style he wanted to make. His opportunity finally came almost fifteen years later, with the once-in-a-lifetime chance to purchase a domaine with prime red vineyards in three great Côte de Beaune villages: Volnay, Pommard, and Beaune. The vines also happened to be close enough for him to walk to from his home and winery in Meursault. He was ready to strike, but needed assurances from a top customer. I didn’t need long to think about it. Ever since he took over winemaking from his legendary father with the 2007 vintage, Antoine has produced the wines of our Burgundian dreams. A hard worker with charming modesty and a great deal of innate talent, he has always delivered. His motivation to make reds at the level of his whites was strong, and he is the type of person that will not give up until he achieves what he sets out to do.
     I also remember walking into his cellar to taste those reds for the first time. It was only a couple of months after harvest, in November 2019. The only thing more exciting than hearing about the opportunity initially was tasting his first wine from these vineyards. As much as I believed in him, it was almost uncanny how he had delivered such spectacular wines right out of the gate. I fell for the style he was going for immediately—fruit-forward, silky tannins, enticing perfume, delicious already with a promising future. They represented the type of Pinot Noir that can only be made in Burgundy, with the deft touch of an experienced hand.
     Fast-forward a few years and Antoine has now had the time to fully gain control of his land, working his soils and getting to know his terroirs intimately. His 2022s are, once again, the stuff that our Burgundian dreams are made of. You’ll need to take a (well-informed) leap of faith: Jobard is now a great source for both white and red Burgundy. I am willing to stake my reputation on it!
     Please inquire with our staff to learn about all of Jobard’s rouge bottlings—for example, his wonderfully elegant Beaune premier cru Montrevenots from a cooler, higher-altitude, east-facing vineyard above Clos des Mouches.