TN: Jane Eyre's 2018 Release Dinner in Melbourne

Hi Berserkers,

On March 18th 2020 I attended a 2018 Burgundy Release dinner at Prince Wine Store in Melbourne, Australia. I wanted to share the experience with you for a while, but only now gathered the courage to put everything down now (quarantine restlessness a helpful kick). In the meantime, I forgot where I put my notes, so I’ll have to draw from memory, but they weren’t extensive anyway so we’ll be fine.

The dinner centered around the 2018 release from micro-négociant Jane Eyre. Coming from Australia but living and working in Burgundy for a while now (since the early 2000s), Jane was a lovely entertainer, talking us through the wines as well as her business as a négociant. This was the menu of the night:

1 Scorched corn & jalapeno arancini
- Fleurie Beaujolais 2018

We started with the Fleurie Beaujolais which in Jane’s view makes more sense than trying to make a good Bourgogne Rogue. What can I say about this wine: very drinkable, balanced, and with just a hint of the gamey note I associate with Gamay. Great start.


2 Confit duck, mt byron lentils, mushrooms, madeira jus
_- Savigny Les Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses 2018

  • Volnay Village 2018
  • Santenay 1er Cru Gravieres 2018
  • Chassegne Montrachet 1er Cru Bondues 2018_

This flight contained very different wines. The Savigny Les Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses was very perfumed and elegant, red fruits and roses.

The Volnay Village reminded my of a Chinon, with a slightly earthier, funkier nose, and a hint of “greeness” on the palate, for lack of a better word. I shared my thoughts with Jane, who was sitting just next to me at the dinner, and she agreed that the Volnay had a “coolness” to it that could remind of a Loire Cabernet Franc. I guess with that she meant that the wine wasn’t fruity or immediately generous.

Next, the Santenay 1er Cru Gravieres was a pleasant surprise from an appellation I hadn’t really heard much about before. This wine was showing beautifully, interplaying red and blue fruits, elegance and power; Jane described the 1er Cru Les Gravieres as the “Chambolle of Beaune" - apparently the vineyard has a similar soil to Chambolle Musigny. This was my wine of the night.

Chassegne Montrachet 1er Cru Bondues was interesting in that it is a rarity to encounter red Chassegne Montrachet. This was Jane’s first vintage of Bondues. She told us that she wanted to make wine from the vineyard since a long time and was particularly excited when she was offered a contract here. In Jane’s view Bondues is typically very elengant, parfumed, and feminine in character. This wine, however, was the exact opposite! One of the darkest wines of the night, I’m sure this needs more time to come around, because on the night it still seemed too young.


3 Flank steak, soubise, chargrilled broccolini, bagna cauda
_- Gevrey Chambertin Village 2018

  • Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Corbeaux 2018
  • Corton Grand Cru 2018
  • Hospices de Beaune 1er Cru Cuvee Guigone de Salins 2015 (elevage by Jane Eyre)_

This flight was tasted from bottom to top. Jane started by retelling the story of the Hospices de Beaune and the evolution of the auction until the current days. The Hospices de Beaune 1er Cru Cuvee Guigone de Salins was a wine that I wasn’t able to fully understand. I don’t remember much to be honest. This is probably due to fact that this was 2015 and the odd-one out so I didn’t have any comparison. This was quite dark and powerful, as you’d expect from the vintage, but I can’t really say much else. I’d have to re-taste it.

Next came the Corton Grand Cru, a co-fermented blend of mostly Maréchaudes with Renardes and a little Bressandes. The hills of Corton were described as having “dramatic” views of the landscape and that is exactly the perfect descriptor for this wine: dramatic. Regal, powerful, complex but in an almost understated way, like someone who was born blue-blooded and know their birthright. In objective terms this was probably the best wine of the night, and the wine with most ageing potential. That said it still needs more time to integrate fully. A re-taste at the end of the dinner against the Santenay 1er Cru Gravieres confirmed this impression: palate-wise the Santenay was lovely and open, the Corton bursted with sheer power, but a bit too much so, and that’s why the Santenay was my wine of the night. On the flip-side, the Corton had a beguiling nose, ever-changing and developing, which reminded me of a Barolo, and far and above the aromatics of the Santenay.

Finally, we come to the Cote de Nuits with two Gevrey Chambertins. The Gevrey Chambertin Village was probably the weakest wine of the night, with an almost rustic-like character that evidenced itself next to the superior wines it was paired against. It might be asking too much considering the opposition, but I was still a bit underwhelmed.

The Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Corbeaux, however, was a beautiful wine. The lightest in colour, it was aromatic, lifted, velvety, with pure red fruit. It was surprising for me personally because I heard Gevrey Chambertin was supposed to be about power, but this was all the opposite (similar to how Chassegne Montrachet 1er Cru Bondues is supposedly elegant, the beauty of Burgundy I guess). Jane commented that her parcel of Corbeaux confines the Grand Cru of Mazi-Chambertin and that, if she was offered fruit from the side of Mazi-Chambertin nearest to her Corbeaux, she would decline since the quality difference is minimal. She would only accept fruit from the opposide of Mazi-Chambertin, close to Chambertin itself (or Clos de Beze to be precise).

Finishing thoughts

All in all this was a beautiful evening with great food supplied by Prince Wine Store’s next-door wine-bar Bellota. This was one of my first real deeper ventures in Burgundy and I loved it. Each wine showed great individuality and terroir, and I could really pick the differences of each site. Topped with the precise and generous explanation from Jane Eyre herself made it an invaluable experience. Jane Eyre’s wines were in my view attractive, precise, and transparent. I would definitely recommend them.

I hope you enjoyed. Some photos of the evening below.

Pic of Jane Eyre herself

Pic of the room setup