Domaine Rémi Jobard Monthélie Blanc 1er Cru Sur la Velle 2022

Rémi Jobard is the dynamic son of Charles Jobard and nephew to Francois Jobard. Growing up and learning form these legendary brothers inspired Rémi to follow in his father’s footsteps and eventually take the helm at this remarkable domaine. As is normally the case in Burgundy, with a famous last name comes an enviable assortment of vineyards. When Rémi took full control in 1996, he found himself presiding over Meursault and Puligny based Bourgogne Blancs, 4 high altitude Meursault lieu dits, and 3 of the best situated parcels of 1er crus. Since 1994, the Domaine has not used any herbicides or pesticides, converting to organics and eventually getting certification in 2011. All of Rémi’s wines show clarity of terroir, which come from the impeccable farming and a simple hands-off approach in the cellar. Rémi has two vast presses, to enable him to press very slowly over six hours, and this has resulted in a big jump in finesse. The élevage now lasts nearly fifteen months, so as to allow the wines to develop slowly and to avoid fining. As a result these are wines which take a moment to show, but which reward the patient with complexity and great depth of flavour. Rémi made a move from traditional barrels to foudres made of a mix of French, Austrian and Slavonian oak, constructed by Austrian cooper Stockinger, and having added a new one (or two) each year, there’s barely a normal barrel left. He likes the way the wines develop in these large volumes, in which the ‘oaking’ effect is minimised.