WTN: 1998 Jadot Clos des Ursules

1998 Jadot Clos des Ursules

This is the fourth bottle of '98 Jadot CdU that I pulled from the cut out bin at the local wine shop. No idea how they ended up there. People in this neck of woods just won't pay more the about $15 for a bottle of wine. Their loss, my gain.

I suppose this CdU should be past its prime, but every bottle gets better and better.

Color: Dark red with a little jaundiced appearance at the rim.

Nose: Fruit, flowers, earth and all sort of goodies just danced out of the glass. I could have sniffed the wine for an hour. I served it a little warmer than normal for me, about 62 F may have caused the nose to go nulear.

Taste: Silky mouth feel. Super yet sedate fruit, berry and cherry with almost no trace of tannin. A little licorice and the burgundy farmyard in the background. A little balancing acidity. Extended finish with almost a flavor "second wind" after about 15 seconds. Just and all around scrumptious wine.

This stuff is a treat for a primier Cru. I know '98 was not a great vintage and the CdU isn't supposed to age well, but I have seen marked improvement of an already tasty wine over the past 2 years. Let's hear it for under-rated Burgundy.

Sam Platt

[David M. Bueker]

I guess I will beg to differ. '98 was not a bad vintage at all, and Clos des Ursules can age fantastically. It's a wonderful 1er cru still available at a modest price. You got a great bargain.

Sam,

Agree, Jadot's "second tier" sites from "unrenowned" years can often be had for great QPR. I've got a few mixed cases of '97 and '98 Jadot's Ursules, Couchereaux, Porrets as well as a few village wines that range from good to excellent with none in danger of falling apart any time soon. Let the cherry pickers have their fun at the top end while small fry (like me) pick the eyes out of the left overs!

Well, since 1998 is a favorite vintage of mine and I regard Clos des Ursules as one of Jadot's three most consistently good wines (along with Bonnes Mares and Clos St. Jacques) and since I loved this wine on release all I can say is - WHY was I such an idiot as to open my only two bottles while the wine was still closed?

Anyone have recent experience with the 1993? Is it open yet? I had it a few years back and it was still rather reticent.