WTN: Jaffelin Burgundy

Notes from a tasting of Burgundy samples from Jaffelin.

Whites:

Jaffelin Pouilly Fuisse 2007 - Very dry and stony. Has a bit of body to it. High acidity. Not bad.

Jaffelin Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 2006 - Soft, dry, silky. Grapefruit/Pomelo flavors. Very nice and stylish.

Jaffelin Saint Aubin 1er Cru Sur Gamay 2007 - Strange, tequila-like nose. Lemon rind. Not bad but I prefer the Chablis.

Jaffelin Puligny Montrachet 1er cru Les Chalumaux 2006 - Mandarin oranges. Very gentle oak. Creamy, good complexity. Firm finish. Excellent.

Reds:

Jaffelin Gevrey Chambertin 2005 - Nice, fruity, cherry nose. Some wood notes. Spicy, strawberry. Good fruit. Subtle tobacco leaf. Very soft and ready to go. Good.

Jaffelin Nuits St. Georges 2006 - Spicy, sweet fruit, good weight. Quite long. Already soft but I have the impression it could improve with some short term cellaring. Good.

Jaffelin Vosne Romanee 2004 - Very strong, hot, nose. Spicy, sweet fruit. Slightly bitter on the finish. Good.

Jaffelin Pommard 2006 - Deep nose. Smoke and leather. Sweet fruit. Fragrant wood. Soft. Very good.

Jaffelin Chambolle Musigny 2006 - Mushrooms and mint; berries and cream. Tobacco. Complex, lovely and ready to go. Excellent.

To end the evening, our host decided to open a magnum of:

Yalumba The Signature Cabernet Shiraz 2001 - Black. Creamy oak but with an acidity to balance the cream. Tannic. Cassis, smoke and chocolate. Dry finish. Should have been left alone a few more years as it needed more time to develop.

Never heard of Jaffelin, sounds like a big negociant?

Jaffelin Saint Aubin 1er Cru Sur Gamay 2007..

Interesting name for a white wine

Never heard of Jaffelin, sounds like a big negociant?

Jaffelin Saint Aubin 1er Cru Sur Gamay 2007..

Interesting name for a white wine

Jaffelin is part of the Boisset group which, I believe, is one of the largest, if not the largest, negociant in Burgundy. And I agree, odd name for a red.

Never heard of Jaffelin, sounds like a big negociant?

Jaffelin Saint Aubin 1er Cru Sur Gamay 2007..

Interesting name for a white wine

Jaffelin is part of the Boisset group which, I believe, is one of the largest, if not the largest, negociant in Burgundy. And I agree, odd name for a red.

Sur Gamay is a vineyard site within the St. Aubin AOC; Gamay is a place name and not a grape variety here. St. Aubin does both red and white (PN and Chard). There's also a vineyard not far from this one that has the name Derriere, because it's behind someone else's place. My favorite, somewhat loosely translated is "The pathway with the nail" vineyard.

Always intended to go there and try to get the historical reasons for the interesting names.

Gamay is a place name and not a grape variety here..

Interesting. One would imagine that such a name was given because it was a place to grow gamay. Unless the name came before the grape. But that's impossible because the grape had to exist before it could be called gamay.

Obviously this site needs to have the chardonnay ripped up and be replanted to gamay. The ancient naming-gods know something.

Gamay is a place name and not a grape variety here..

Interesting. One would imagine that such a name was given because it was a place to grow gamay. Unless the name came before the grape. But that's impossible because the grape had to exist before it could be called gamay.

Obviously this site needs to have the chardonnay ripped up and be replanted to gamay. The ancient naming-gods know something.

Well, thanks to those ancient naming gods, there's a Gamay in the Northern Sambar province of the Phillipines. I doubt they grow any Gamay grapes their either. But if they decide to do so at least they won't have to rip out the chardonnay first.

Well, thanks to those ancient naming gods, there's a Gamay in the Northern Sambar province of the Phillipines..

Interesting!