Charles Joguet, 2007 Update
Although perhaps one of the best-known names of the Chinon appellation, it is in truth some time since Charles Joguet passed on the responsibility for this domaine to others, a fact that is apparent every time I meet the young and dynamic François-Xavier Barc, the current winemaker at the domaine. Perhaps, with this thought in mind, I should give some credit to those responsible for the wines we are buying and drinking today.
Since Joguet’s retirement in 1997, the domaine has been under the control of a number of characters, the most prominent perhaps being Alain Delaunay. My profile gives added detail. More recently, however, Delaunay has also seen fit to move on, and the domaine is now essentially in the hands of the Genet family, with François-Xavier Barc making the wines. Barc had worked at the domaine during the late 1990s, but after gaining experience elsewhere he returned in 2003 to take up the joint position of viticulturist and winemaker. He pays attention to detail, abhors machine harvesting (his reaction to this question, put to him when I first met him in 2006, was a picture to behold), and is moving the domaine gradually towards more organic viticulture.
It is surely no coincidence that, in my opinion, the wines of Charles Joguet have been getting better and better since the 2003 vintage. Perhaps the ripeness of 2003 and 2005 plays some role in this perception, but wines from 2004 and 2006 are no slouches either. I think, under Barc, Charles Joguet is once more – as it was under Joguet himself – one of the most significant domaines of the Chinon vignoble.
