Jean-Luc Joillot Pommard Les Noizons 2017: A Mature Burgundy with Dark Fruit, Leather and Stubborn Tannins
Pommard has never been the most accommodating village in Burgundy. Its Pinot Noir can be muscular, earthy and fiercely tannic, with little interest in the delicate manners of neighbouring Volnay. Jean-Luc Joillot’s Les Noizons 2017 has some of that rugged character, but the vintage brings an attractive generosity to the wine.
Ripe raspberries and dark cherries dominate the opening, followed by leather, black pepper and a discreet touch of oak. The palate is round and lively, with firm tannins that have gradually softened during bottle ageing. What makes this Pommard interesting is its acidity: persistent, incisive and capable of carrying the fruit through a long, savoury finish.
This is traditional Burgundy with a little dirt under its fingernails. Not a monumental Premier Cru, but a convincing village Pinot Noir with personality and plenty of life.
The Basics
- Producer: Domaine Jean-Luc Joillot, now Domaine Georges Joillot
- Wine: Pommard Les Noizons
- Vintage: 2017
- Appellation: Pommard AOC
- Classification: Village, named climat
- Region: Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France
- Grape: 100% Pinot Noir
- Vineyard: Les Noizons, Pommard
- Vineyard area: 1.42 hectares, divided into five parcels
- Average vine age: 40 years
- Soils: Gravelly, fossil-rich limestone
- Exposure: South and southeast
- Harvest: Manual
- Vinification: Fully destemmed grapes, 14–20 days of maceration
- Ageing: 12 months in oak barrels, approximately 25% new
- Production: 6,300 bottles
- Serving temperature: 15–16°C
The Estate and the Les Noizons Vineyard
The Joillot family has cultivated vineyards in Pommard since the early twentieth century. Jean-Luc Joillot developed the estate during the 1980s, gradually expanding its holdings in Pommard and neighbouring appellations. The property now operates under the name Domaine Georges Joillot.
Les Noizons is one of its distinctive village-level wines, produced from a named vineyard rather than a generic blend of Pommard parcels.
The estate cultivates 1.42 hectares here, divided into five parcels with vines averaging forty years of age. The south-facing slopes contain gravelly limestone soils rich in ancient shell fragments.
The vineyard’s name has an amusing history. Before vines took over the hillside, walnut trees grew here; Les Noizons preserves a memory of those earlier plantings.
Pommard lies immediately south of Beaune, bordering Volnay. Both villages produce red wines from Pinot Noir, but their reputations could hardly be more different. Volnay is celebrated for perfume and finesse, while Pommard traditionally offers darker fruit, more substantial tannins and a tougher constitution.
As our Pommard wine guide explains, that distinction is not absolute. Vineyard exposure, soil composition and winemaking all contribute to a remarkable variety of styles.
Les Noizons nevertheless belongs to the firmer side of the village’s personality.
The 2017 Vintage and Winemaking
After the frost damage suffered across Burgundy in 2016, the 2017 growing season brought more favourable conditions. Harvesting at the Joillot estate began on 4 September, producing healthy grapes with attractive ripeness and sufficient acidity.
The Pinot Noir was completely destemmed before fermentation and maceration, which lasted between fourteen and twenty days.
The wine then matured for twelve months in oak barrels, approximately one-quarter of them new.
That proportion gives the wood a supporting role. It contributes a little spice and tannic structure without turning Les Noizons into a heavily toasted Burgundy.
The 2017 vintage is particularly interesting because its generous fruit never completely suppresses Pommard’s natural firmness. The wine has developed considerably since release, but its tannic backbone remains perceptible.
It makes an instructive comparison with Domaine de Bellene’s Volnay Les Grands Poisots 2015. Both show the ageing potential of village Burgundy, but Joillot’s Pommard is more assertive in texture, with a sturdier, earthier finish.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Ruby red developing garnet reflections, with a luminous, moderately concentrated centre.
Bouquet: Ripe raspberry and black cherry emerge immediately, followed by leather, dried violet and a discreet woody accent. Black pepper adds a lively touch, while damp leaves and a faint earthy note reveal the wine’s evolution. The perfume is generous and distinctly autumnal, without surrendering the freshness of its red fruit.
Palate: Round, vigorous and firmly structured. The opening is juicy, with ripe raspberry and cherry giving the wine an inviting sweetness of fruit. Then the tannins assert themselves: compact, slightly grainy and still remarkably lively.
Acidity stretches the fruit across the palate, bringing definition to the darker flavours of leather, spice and woodland earth. There is substance here, but no excessive heaviness. The oak has settled into the background, leaving the vineyard’s fruit and structure in command.
The only real limitation is complexity. Les Noizons has authority and character, but it lacks the profound concentration and intricate development of Pommard’s greatest Premier Crus.
Finish: Long, dry and savoury, with persistent cherry, black pepper and a fine tannic grip. The acidity remains impressively energetic.
Our Verdict
Jean-Luc Joillot Les Noizons 2017 is a fine, mature Pommard, generous in fruit but refreshingly stubborn in structure. Its tannins have become more civilised, while leather and earthy nuances now give the bouquet an attractive complexity.
It does not possess the grandeur of Rugiens or Épenots, and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. Its appeal is more direct: ripe fruit, serious tannins and the unmistakable character of traditional Côte de Beaune Pinot Noir.
A persuasive village Burgundy, particularly for drinkers who prefer the sturdier temperament of Pommard to the fragrant delicacy of Volnay.
Food Pairings
Paella, vitello tonnato, chicken curry, pulled pork, empanadas, hamburgers.
