Domaine Joblot

The estate was founded in Givry by Charles Joblot after the First World War, although it was only in the late 1960s when Marc (Charles’s son) was at the helm that the estate started bottling the wine under their own name. 

Marc passed the property to his sons Jean-Marc and Vincent in the 1970s, who really forged the estate’s reputation. Juliette, the fourth generation of the Joblot family to make wine in Givry, took over and tweaked the style, adding a modern touch, reducing the use of new oak and placing additional emphasis on sustainability. In September 2021, Hélène Sarkis took over managing the property.

Of the estate’s 14 hectares, nine are Premier Cru, including some of the village’s finest plots such as Clos de la Servoisine and Cellier aux Moines. The vines are generally old – 35 to 40 years on average, but with some that are up to 80 years in age. Production is around 6,000 cases and mainly red, with just 20% white. The reds are plush and spicy, offering much more finesse than most expect of this southern locale. 

L’Empreinte is the property’s top wine, a blend of their four red Premier Cru sites (Clos de la Servoisine, Cellier aux Moines, Clos Marole and Les Bois Chevaux); while the white Cuvée Mademoiselle is a blend of their older-vine Premier Cru Chardonnay from En Veau and Clos de la Servoisine. 

Joblot is rightfully praised by the likes of Clive Coates MW, Robert Parker, Allen Meadows and Jasper Morris MW as not only the leading address in Givry, but one of the great estates in the whole of Burgundy. The wines offer excellent value.

There are 14 hectares in total, with 11 dedicated to Pinot Noir and three to Chardonnay. The holdings consist of four red Premier Cru plots (Clos de la Servoisine, Clos Marole, Les Bois Chevaux and Cellier aux Moines) and two white Premier Cru vineyards (also Clos de la Servoisine and En Veau), as well as village Givry of both colours. 

Such is the focus on vineyard work that the estate has a large team that works year-round. While not certified, work is all organic with some biodynamic treatments. With sugar and phenolic ripeness now a sure thing with climate change, the estate picks based on acidity. The fruit is sorted carefully in the vineyard, with as much as 40% of the crop discarded if it doesn’t meet the team’s rigorous quality standards.

Each plot is vinified separately to preserve an expression of site. For the reds, all the fruit is de-stemmed with a short cold soak and then a two to three-week maceration in stainless steel tanks with automated punch downs.

Fermentation is all with indigenous yeast and the wines all go into barrels from François Frères, with whom the property has long worked. The proportion of new oak has been reduced over the years, and is now on average 50% across the range, with a little more used on the whites in comparison to the reds.