[ Home > Jadot Beaune Clos Des Couchereaux 2005 ]
The picturesque city of Beaune has since the 14th century been the commercial pulse of the Burgundian wine trade. Its vineyards, the most extensive of the Côte de Beaune, cover 1,111 acres between Savigny, to the north, and Pommard, to the south. There are no grand cru vineyards in the commune of Beaune, yet its 36 premier cru vineyards occupy 795 acres, over double the 317 acres under the Beaune village appellation. Vineyards under the Côte de Beaune-Villages appellation constitute a further 128 acres. The Beaune and Beaune premier cru vineyards are ranked as such for both red and white wines, yet the latter account for only 4.5 percent of the average annual production of 11,929 hectolitres (137,200 cases). History estimates that Beaune was colonized in 52 B.C. on the site of one of Julius Caesar's military camps. Speculations on the original name vary: from "belna," a small villa; or "Belen," a Gallic deity; or a corruption of "Belisana," alias of the goddess Minerva. Beaune's importance grew after the destruction of the city of Autun in the 6th century, and Gregory of Tours' history of France, written in 570, already documented its importance in the culture of the vine. Formally chartered as a city in 1203, Beaune remained the residence of the dukes of Burgundy until supplanted by Dijon in the late 1300s; it was during the bloody period that followed Beaune's destruction by fire in 1401, under Louis XI and Charles XIII, that the massive fortified walls and pentangular castle, which still stand today, were built. The Aux Coucherias vineyard lies on the upper reaches of Beaune's premier cru slope, equidistant from Pommard and Savigny, and occupies 24 acres. Louis Henry Denis Jadot purchased 4.94-acres in the Clos des Couchereaux in 1836, and this holding has remained in the Jadot family ever since. The superb, east-southeast exposition of the vineyard results in a wine of particular fruit fipeness and supple full body. Its delicately fragrant Pinot Noir bouquet, marked by characteristically earthy notes, is followed on the palate by a generous, velvety texture and lengthy finish.
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