"Bourgogne Blanc" Blend of Meursault and Puligny

 2018 Domaine Janotbos Bourgogne Blanc 

 - The 2014 was our White Wine of the Year

 - Fruit: A Blend of Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet

 - Smells Like a High Class Village Wine

 - Super Mineral and Super Expressive

 - Big Apple and Pear Fruits

 - Palate: Incredible Clarity of Fruit

 - Terrific Flavor Authority 

 - Sappy Minerals

 - Very Concentrated

 - Tremendous Village Level Finesse and Sap

2018 Domaine Janotbos Macon-Vergisson

 - Great Macon White Fruit

 - None of the Typical Blowiness of the Macon

 - Cote d'Or Style: Serious, Complex, Mineral

 - JanotBos' Serious Elegant Style Makes This a Stunning Value

 - Nose as Complex As Much Pricier Cote d'Or Whites: Lean, Mineral, Saline , White Flowers, Hazelnuts

 - Palate: Power and Concentration 

 - Matched with the Epic Purity, Fruit, Acid and Freshness

 - At $29.99 A White Burgundy That Will Compete with Many Very, Very Good $50+ Village Wines in the Cote d'Or

Cheating

All's fair in love and war. And if I can source a wine made from a blend of Village Puligny and Meursault and sell it for Bourgogne Blanc prices, I'm going to do it, no questions asked.

And if I can pair that with a Macon that is made by a winemaker that veers way elegant so the wine tastes more like Cote d'Or, I'm going to do that as well.

And if the producer is our Fassiest producer of White Burgundy, I'm going to highly encourage you to buy both wines.

The JanotBos Style

The wines of JanotBos have that level of beyond reality about them. The minerals are so finely cut they are
almost beyond mineral. The acidity is precise and just there in a clear way but not obtrusive. The fruit is always that which it should be and not a teeny bit more or less. The fruits taste like the perfect fruits - not overripe, not underripe just exactly there. They bring back Robuchon's famous line, "a carrot should taste like a carrot, a pea should taste like a pea." In a world that often strives for extravagant intensity, these wines reach the level of perfection and then stop on a dime because any more would be simply vulgar.

The Macon

I love the Macon. I've always had an affinity for it and I've only offered a smattering of some here and there in the 9+ years of Fass Selections. There is incredible diversity of terroir between Macon, Pouilly-Fuisse and Pouilly-Vinzelles and as everyone knows they can be terrific values and some of them can have terrific short to medium term aging. There is also a freedom in drinking inexpensive Burgundy. Expectations are always built up when a Burg hits a certain price point. Sometimes you get disappointed and sometimes you have a come to Jesus moment and also many experiences in between. Most of this is due to expectations. With inexpensive Burgundy people always seem to manage their expectations and as a result of this they are overwhelmingly happy with Macon wines when they are drinking them because they tend to always rise above our somewhat managed expectations. That's why I love Macon wines as there's is a freeing feeling when drinking them. 

When I was tasting in Richard Bos' cellar of Domaine Janotbos he tasted me on two Macon wines that absolutely blew me away. In 2018 both of them were just smokeshows. They have the classic Janotbos style of a steely structural architecture and unreal cleanliness, depth and precision. I am offering one of tem today and it is a top top value and should be considered to be case purchase if you like value Burgundy.

The Wines

Up first is the 2018 Domaine Janotbos Macon-Vergisson for $28.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This wine is a rock star doing a metal cover. It's so brilliant. Really a wow wine and it really performed way above my expectations. Gorgeous wine and a killer Macon that's more like a great Cote de Beaune wine than anything.

Nose is super mineral with almost chlorophyll like aromas and just a sense of purity and essence of great single vineyard Macon. Lemon pit, lemon zest as well as high toned white flowers. Also deep nose of apple and some pear. Gorgeous spice and minerality.

On the palate, this has insane inner mouth aromas that I typically only associate with much more expensive wines. Very, very pure. The purity streak that runs through the 2018 Janotbos wines is something else. Complex, mineral and very sappy with a mineral wash finish. Freshness is off the charts. Really terrific length. Complex, fresh and concentrated with dazzling purity, a hit of opulence and such amazing persistence and freshness. Wow. Deep. Long and so balanced. Energy for days.

This is one of those wines that I just love to drink and share with people because they aren't prepared for how great it is. I just looked at all the other Macon-Vergisson on Delectable and I'll say this is easily on the same level as Barraud and I honestly prefer the style even more as it's much racier and mineral.

Richard also has some left of the 2018 Domaine Janotbos Bourgogne Blanc for $27.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack, which the 2014 was our white wine of the year some years back. It is simply a stunning microcosm of why 2018 is awesome and Jaonotbos is awesome for an affordable price and also if you have not had a Janotbos wine and want to get a handle on the style this is the perfect wine and he only has a limited amount left.

This is an unreal Bourgogne Blanc and it's really village level quality in Bourgogne Blanc clothing and it comes from absolutely the Fassiest estate we have for White Burgundy.

Vineyards 

The fruit in this wine is a blend of vineyards in Meursault (Les Pellons) and in Puligny-Montrachet (Champ Perrieres) which is very serious for a Bourgogne Blanc. This wine is what great 2018 White Burgundy is about.

Aromatics

This smells like a high class village wine off the bat and that's what I said blind as Richard Bos tasted me blind when I was there. Super mineral and super expressive nose with so much limestone character and big apple and pear fruits. Vivid and pure aromas. Loads of wet stones.

Palate

Incredible clarity of fruit, flavor authority and sappy minerals and tasty present and beguiling acidity along with terrific purity. Deep, very concentrated with tremendous village level finesse and sap. Terrific cut and acidity and that intensely friendly drinkable yet classical style that sets 2018 apart

Finish

Long winding mineral finish that pitter patters down your palate. Really terrific mouthfeel and almost a sweet tart impression the palate. Tactile and grippy. Powerful and persistent this has the guts to age 10 more years.

The Estate

Richard Bos of the relatively sleeper Fass Selection estate, Domaine JanotsBos, is an outsider who came, he saw, and by my tasting in his cellars in March, he conquered. Richard is from the Netherlands and still commutes back and forth between the winery in Meursault and his home in the Netherlands where he still has friends and family. Richard's partner is Thierry Janots. Janots was the part time winemaker for a number of years at Comte Lafon. Both have been killing the game since 2005. They don't own their vineyards like many outsiders in Burgundy but have connections to them and visit often and have great relationships with the land owners who they coordinate with to get the grapes the way that they want them.

I've tasted tons of white Burgundies from top producers and I am even more convinced that the JanotBos wines are in that tier and offer brilliant value to boot. These are top top values as they have the insane depth of the top guys but are not priced like that. 12 years is a small nugget in time for a winery in Burgundy. One second on the Doomsday clock. And in that time they have raised waves. For high quality Burgundy these are a must.

2018 Domaine Janotsbos Bourgogne Blanc - $29.99 ($111.96 4-Pack) 

2018 Domaine Janotsbos Macon-Vergisson - $30.99 (115.96 4-Pack)