Wines

A generous, yellow-fruited wine from a 1950s planting of the prized aligoté doré clone grown on a plot called “Les Castaings” in the commune of Magny-lès-Villers. Handpicked at peak maturity, the grapes are sorted, gently pressed, and racked into stainless steel tanks for both fermentation and ageing, with bottling at 18 months.

Hoffmann-Jayer’s distinctive and complex Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc is a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Blanc from a one-hectare parcel in Magny-lès-Villers’ Les Vallerots lieu-dit planted in the early 1950s. Two-thirds of the cuvée spends 15 months in new low-toast 350-liter barrels, and one-third ages in terracotta jar; it is then assembled and allowed to settle for six months in steel. Structured, saline, and stony, the finished wine clearly reflects the stone-riddled, steeply inclined site in which the vines are planted.

Hoffmann-Jayer’s Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Blanc blends parcels from three vineyards: Le Perchy in Magny-lès-Villers, and Sous le Mont and La Flie in Villers-la-Faye. The holdings encompass 1.2 hectares and are planted 70% to Chardonnay and 30% to Pinot Blanc, from vines between 55 and 75 years of age. As with the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc, Alexandre ages this in a blend of two-thirds new 350-liter barrels and one-third terracotta jar before assembling it for six months prior to bottling. Richer and riper than the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc above, this shows even greater tension on the palate, with cleanly articulated minerality and an attractive undertone of well-measured oak.

The domaine’s Passetoutgrain comprises 50% Gamay and 50% Pinot Noir from 0.4 hectare’s worth of vines in the lieux-dits Les Mailles in Magny-lès-Villers and Sous le Mont in Villers-sur-Faye. The 50-year-old vines are harvested together and co-fermented in stainless steel after a pre-fermentation cold soak, and the wine spends 18 months settling in tank before being bottled without filtration. This is a vibrant, snappy Passetoutgrain with great lift and energy on the palate, nicely reflecting the cooler microclimate of these Hautes-Côtes vineyards.

Hoffmann-Jayer’s Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Rouge comes from a hectare’s worth of 60-year-old Pinot Noir planted in the lieux-dits En Foigery and Les Castaings in Magny-lès-Villers. After a pre-fermentation cold soak and a spontaneous fermentation in cement tank, the wine spends 18 months aging in a combination of two-thirds 228-liter barrels (20% new) and one-third terracotta jar before being bottled without filtration. Bright, red-fruited, and marked by lip-smacking minerality, this is a fresh but serious version of this appellation, buttressed by clean and elegant tannins.

The Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Rouge comprises a significant portion of Hoffmann-Jayer’s production, coming from 2.4 hectares of vines planted in several plots: Les Mailles, La Flie, and Sous le Mont in Magny-lès-Villers, and Les Chasserots in Villers-la-Faye. These 50-year-old vines produce a wine more savory and earth-tinged than its Hautes-Côtes de Beaune counterpart, although the aging process is identical: two-thirds in 20% new oak and one-third in terracotta, and bottled without filtration after 18 months of élevage.

The 1.8-hectare lieu-dit of “Les Chasserots”, the source of the grapes for Cuvée Rosalie, is a vineyard of 50-year-old vines in the Haut-Cote de Nuits entirely controlled by the Hoffman-Jayer estate. There, the soil is darker, thinner, and therefore closer to the limestone “mother rock”. The Cuvée Rosalie is a selection of three of the most promising barrels produced from this parcel, with élevage entirely in a mix of one-to-three-year-old oak.

Hoffmann-Jayer owns 1.3 hectares of 60-year-old Pinot Noir in the village of Corgoloin, planted in three different lieux-dits: En Fontenelle, Le Clos de Magny, and La Montagne. This Côte de Nuits-Villages is aged entirely in 228-liter barrels, one-third of which are new, and Alexandre’s preference for low-toast wood allows the fruit to shine through beautifully. Juicy, kirsch-like red fruits ride on a ridge of gorgeously articulated, fresh tannins, and a looming but understated sense of structure implies a great deal of upside potential.

The domaine exploits a 0.3-hectare plot of 70-year-old Pinot Noir in this steep, rocky-soiled vineyard that sits just above the village’s old quarry. Alexandre retains one-third whole clusters in the vinification here, employing just 30% new oak during the 20-month élevage and bottling without fining or filtration. This distinctive wine shows Nuits-Saint-Georges’ intensely mineral side, with chiseled tension and just-so black fruits on an energetic frame.

A real jewel of the cellar, this comes from a 1910 planting of just 13 rows, totaling a tenth of a hectare in this outstanding vineyard that abuts Vosne-Romanée to the immediate north. Les Damodes’ shallow, pebbly soils produce a wine of nuance and finesse, marked by a profoundly savory minerality and graceful red fruits, as well as a super-long, tunneling finish. Alexandre uses one-third whole bunches during the vinification, and élevage takes place in 30% new wood.

In the early 1960s, the Jayer-Gilles estate acquired half a hectare in this fabled grand cru from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The vines planted back then yield a wine of eye-popping stoniness and length whose fearsome terroir imprint all but buries the 50% new wood Alexandre employs for its élevage. This spends 20 months in barrel before being bottled without fining or filtration.