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Pascal Jolivet
It is not uncommon, when researching estate profiles, that I find myself looking back many centuries, and in the case of just a handful of estates particularly in Germany or Burgundy, perhaps a thousand years. But it is not just these venerable and ancient estates that should interest us; time and time again I see stories of newcomers that make it good, creating a domaine sometimes from scratch, and turning out wines that might challenge the best in their appellation or region. Michel Tardieu, who fashions wines from all over the Rhône Valley and beyond, is one such name. Bruno Paillard, and his eponymous Champagne house, is another. Perhaps, in the central vineyards of the Loire Valley, we have another that is worthy of our attention; here the man in question is Pascal Jolivet.
Wine was in Jolivet's blood; his father was a négociant, and his grandfather and
great-grandfather had both, in their time, been in charge of the cellar at
Chateau de Tracy, one of the better known exponents of
the Pouilly-Fumé appellation. The family owned no vineyards, however, and Jolivet
started off working in part for Pommery,
and in part for his father's business, until he decided, perhaps motivated by a
difficult relationship with his father, to strike out on his own. He began his
own négociant business, operating out of small cellars in Pouilly-sur-Loire,
the heart of the Pouilly-Fumé appellation, on the right bank of the river just
upstream of Sancerre, which is on the opposite bank. And so it was in 1982 that the nascent domaine came into being,
under the name Les Grands Vins du Val de Loire, but by
1987 the business had taken on Pascal's name. The direction changed somewhat, as
Jolivet began to acquire select vineyards
from all over the Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé appellations, becoming much more
than a négociant. In 1990 he cemented his position in the region with the
construction of new cellars just outside Sancerre, and he continued to build his
domaine up to its current size. Today, 28 hectares provide the fruit for Jolivet's top cuvées,
and all of the three major soils of the upper Loire are represented; half of the
vineyards feature caillottes, chalky soils which are very typical of the
region. Then there is the Kimmeridgian marl or terres
blanches, soils dominated by limestone and clay perhaps reminiscent of the soils of Chablis
and more readily associated with Pouilly-Fumé than Sancerre; this accounts for 30% of the Jolivet domaine.
The remaining 20% is accounted for by silex, or flint.
The fruit of Jolivet's vines is, in many vineyards, hand-harvested, but in about half of the sites the machine does the work instead. This fact is somewhat at odds with the overall Jolivet philosophy, where otherwise attention to detail is key. The fruit is transported in double-bottomed buckets to allow the juice to run away from the fruit at the bottom, followed by sorting on a conveyor belt. Before fermentation there is no use of sulphur, a cold soak at 6ºC and a gentle pneumatic pressing, before the nascent wines are gravity-fed into temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks where they are fermented by the indigenous yeasts. The aim is for a slow and cool fermentation, with 18ºC typical for the white wines. With so many different cuvées from two appellations, in three colours, it is difficult to generalise, but most wines remain in steel until bottling, with up to six months on the lees. This may be true of the whites, but the two top red cuvées, Exception and Grande Cuvée, will be matured in barrel on their lees for a year, undergo malolactic (as do some of the whites), and some wines will see a single filtration before bottling. The whites will also see a clay fining. Cold stabilisation of the finished wines is the norm across the range, except for the Exception cuvées.
This is a complex portfolio with at least six different
arms, but I think it is fair to say that the focus of the domaine is on the top
cuvées and those wines from the lieux-dits of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. At the top is the Exception duo, comprising red and white Sancerre.
This is Jolivet's ultimate expression of Sancerre, wines that are intended to be
positioned against the leading cuvées of the appellation, such as Cuvée Edmond
from Alphonse Mellot and La Bourgeoise from Henri
Bourgeois. In his own words, Jolivet describes the wine as being born of
frustration that no Grand Cru or Premier Cru system exists for Sancerre, and so
he has created his own version. The issue I must take with this philosophy is
that the designation Grand Cru, when used in an appropriate sense as in Burgundy
(rather than St Emilion
where it is meaningless), implies special terroir, and a special wine as
a result. But in Sancerre it is accepted wisdom that the best wines come from
blending across the three main terroirs. Indeed, this maxim holds true
even with Exception, as despite Jolivet's thought processes the wine is in fact
a blend from three lieux-dits, rather than being from a single site.
Nevertheless the three vineyards in question, Chêne Marchand, Mont
Damnés and Clos du Roy, are all excellent sites with limestone and chalk soils; the fruit
of each contributes one-third to the final wine, and after fermentation it is
bottled unfiltered and unoaked. The red,
meanwhile, is produced from 50-year-old vines grown on limestone and clay soils, and
after twelve months in barrel it too is bottled without
filtration. After Exception comes the Grande Cuvée, a trio of wines, again two
colours of Sancerre and now also a Pouilly-Fumé. The white Sancerre is sourced
from a 1 hectare vineyard with chalky soils named Detorbe in Chavignol, northwest of
Sancerre; it undergoes
malolactic before bottling, as does the red which is sourced from 50-year-old
Pinot Noir vines grown on clay and chalky soil in the 1 hectare lieux-dit La Prunelière in Bué,
south of Chavignol and southwest of Sancerre. the harvest is restricted to 30
hl/ha, and after fermentation the wine goes into barrels for one year. The third
wine in this range, the
Pouilly-Fumé, originates from La Loge aux Moines, 1.5 hectares of vines on Kimmeridgian
marl which were originally planted by Benedictine monks in the 11th Century, so there is
some ancient history in the domaine after all, despite Jolivet's youth.
Pascal Jolivet
Lieux-dits and other wines
Sancerre
Chateau de Nozay (4 ha)
Clos du Roy (1.5 ha)
Le Chêne Marchand (1 ha)
Les Caillottes (3.5 ha)
La Bondenotte
(slopes SW of Bué)
Pouilly-Fumé
Les Griottes (1.5 ha)
Other wines include the Pascal Jolivet range, wines blended from a number of the aforementioned sites taking in all three soil types, and also Attitude, a pair of vin de pays bottlings, one Sauvignon Blanc and one Pinot Noir, sourced from Touraine vineyards. But beyond the Exception and Grande Cuvée, it is the lieux-dits and similar cuvées that really provide interest. The sites of origin are summarised to the right. The vineyards in Sancerre are more numerous; vines around Chateau de Nozay in Sainte Gemme, the south-facing slopes of the Clos du Roy in Crézancy and of Le Chêne Marchand and Les Caillottes in Bué all yield Sauvignon Blanc for Jolivet's Sancerres. The slopes between Bué and Champtin, a village further to the southwest, yield the Pinot Noir for Jolivet's only red Sancerre at this level, La Bondenotte. In Pouilly-Fumé there is one wine of significance, Les Griottes, which is sourced from the aforementioned Loge aux Moines. The soils vary across the sites, and although I have met Jolivet face-to-face I still found it difficult to pin down the soil types of each of these individual sites. The chalky caillotes predominates (especially in the vineyard of the same name), that is certain, although there is also marl and clay, such as at Chateau de Nozay.
Having tasted a range of the wines it seems to me that Pascal Jolivet has achieved much; in just a couple of decades he has built up a miniature empire of vineyards and joined the upper ranks of the Sancerrois. His wines are well placed; they can be found on the lists of top class restaurants all over the world. But any dream of usurping the appellation leaders from their positions is, as yet, unrealised I think. These are dependable wines, tasty and worthy of good scores, and I would be delighted to drink them at dinner. They are certainly better than many produced in the appellation, but equally there are those producers that still exceed the quality provided here, even from Jolivet's top cuvées. But even at more than twenty years this is still a young domaine, and Jolivet still has drive, vision, and a keenness to innovate. The creation of a late-harvest Arbois, the fruit picked in November 2005, and the introduction of Indigène in the 2006 vintage, a new Pouilly-Fumé made using indigenous yeasts (as the name suggests) and bottled without filtration would support this view. Jolivet remains an exciting name to watch. (18/3/08)
Contact details:
Address: Route de Chavignol, 18300 Sancerre
Telephone: +33 (0) 2 48 78 60 00
Fax: +33 (0) 2 48 78 60 09
Internet:
www.pascal-jolivet.com
Domaine Pascal Jolivet - Tasting Notes
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Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Blanc 2006: There is nice green fruit on the
nose here, clean and minerally, with a good depth apparent. Full, firm, fresh
character, and a good presence of flavour. Ther eis some attractive, bright
acidity, leading through to a mineral-infused finish. A very firm style, and a
good example of the appellation. 16/20
Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Blanc Les Caillotes 2006: This has a rounder,
more flattering appearance on the nose than the entry-level wine. It is a touch
honeyed I feel. The palate has a firm grip and a well polished style, slightly
fat in terms of texture, perfumed and aromatic, with a good composition overall.
There is a good freshness snap to the finish. Good potential here. 16.5-17+/20
Pascal Jolivet Pouilly-Fumé 2006: On the nose this is a little more
open and relaxed than the corresponding basic Sancerre, still showing that
bright and green nature despite a riper, more rounded feel to it. Full and
rather a minerally style on the palate, a little trace of perfume but there is
good substance here too. Fresh, vivid minerality and overall a very good wine.
16-16.5+/20
Pascal Jolivet Pouilly-Fumé Les Griottes 2006 A herby character on the
nose here, showing nice green fruit. A lot of weight on the palate, fat and
rather broad, carrying a good grip. This has presence and character, good
structure with well defined acidity. Stylish delineation here. Very good indeed,
with very nice potential. 17+/20
Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Rouge La Grande Cuvée 2005: This has a
typically pale hue, reflecting the fruit and the cool climate. Nevertheless, it
has a warm cherry aroma on the nose which certainly gives it some appeal. The
palate is soft, rounded, with a surprising backbone of structure, covered with
cherry and sweet beetroot fruit. Full, polished, with ripe tannins and a good,
fresh acidity. This has a good style, and will be very attractive with a few
years in the cellar. 16.5+/20
Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Blanc Exception 2004: There is good depth on
the nose here, green yet creamy, with a herby edge. A very full and impressive
style on the palate, fresh, broad and expansive. It has structure, and in fact
shows quite a grip on the palate, and overall is very good. For drinking now but
will keep I think. 17+/20
Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Rouge Exception 2003: Rather a savage nose
here, although carrying some chalky elements too. A ripe wall of tannins,
engendering a big grip on the palate, no doubt reflecting the warmth of the
vintage. A lot of structure, but there is a lot of fruit piled on top too.
Cherry notes predominate. It needs time in the cellar to reveal its full
potential. Very good. 17+/20
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