Clos Saint Jacques a missed Grand Cru
The famous 6.7-hectare vineyard Clos Saint Jacques produces some of Burgundy’s finest premier cru red wines. And as fate has it, this vineyard did not achieve its Grand Cru status due to politics!
Comte Robert du Moucheron and Marcelle Boussenot du Clos, a member of the Serre family (his future wife), managed the vineyard until she inherited part of it in 1939, and they earned monopole status in 1949. The land was divided into four parcels and sold in 1954 after their deaths.
Does Clos Saint Jacques deserve Grand Cru status? Comte Robert du Moucheron, a true royalist who alienated those around him, would not align himself with the republican system and refused to fill out the vineyard classification paperwork in the 1930s, resulting in its Premier Cru rating.
The present vineyard combines two different Lieux Dits (areas). In 1828, the Saint Jacques lieu-dit was at the top of the hillside (2 ha 59 ares 80 ca) and the Clos Saint Jacques (3 ha 59 ares 15 ca). In 1855, Dr Jules Lavalle rated the Burgundy terroir; both vineyards were among the first to receive premiere cuvées status. Since the 1940s, the entire vineyard area has been called Clos Saint Jacques.
An essential stop on the famous pilgrim’s route of Santiago de Compostela (Saint-Jacques de Compostelle in French), it was named after a statue of Saint Jacques (one of the twelve apostles) found in the vineyard.
Surrounded by a two-metre-high wall in the Côte-de-Nuits, specifically in Gevrey-Chambertin, the 100% Pinot Noir vineyard sits at 290-345 metres elevation, very high for a premier cru.
CSJ has both south and eastern exposure. The upper part is composed of very shallow clay soil over a limestone bedrock, giving a unique expression of terroir.
The wines are consistently high quality, often equivalent to their grand cru neighbours. They will benefit from at least ten years of cellaring before they begin to express the qualities that make them so outstanding. It has often been compared to Chambertin Grand Cru.
Some of the finest producers own vineyards here, including Domaine Rousseau and Domaine Fourrier, with some of the oldest vines in the entire area.
Explore more CSJ wines directly from the domaines and other rare gems of Burgundy
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