The Jouan CSD is excellent, from very old vines and very well made, so it is no bad thing! I think they can both be proud of the association.
And yes, this is still quite common in Burgundy as a whole. A producer such as Jadot will make the distinction between “vinfié, élevé et mise en bouteille” and “élevé et mise en bouteille”, but not all négociants make this so clear. Many will deposit their own barrels before the harvest and collect the wine once they have been filled. And there is still a healthy market for wines in barrel that producers decide, for whatever reason, to sell. Sometimes that is just a habit: Coche-Dury, for example, still sell Meursault wine to an important négociant, because they have a long-standing relationship (it goes into the blend, in case you were wondering). Other times, it will be a way to get rid of wine that they don’t want to include in the blend. This is all perfectly legal and above board. But it does contribute to a certain heterogeneity across many of the big négociant ranges which makes tasting there quite fun, as quality doesn’t always uniformly follow the appellation hierarchy and it is satisfying to identify the highs and the lows.
Williams, thanks. I’m of course aware of bulking out wine, selling off lesser lots for blending, etc., but wasn’t as aware of grand cru barrels being traded like this. I guess that’s why the price is typically lower than Drouhin’s other GCs. There are some “lesser” Faiveley GCs as well (thinking of, for example, Clos St Denis and Clos de la Roche), are they also wine bought from other producers?
I don’t know the answer to the Faiveley question, I’m afraid. But you can still find plenty of cuvées from very serious appellations that are purchased as wine in the négociants ranges including grands crus from Gevrey and Morey, premiers crus from Vosne, grands crus from Flagey, etc etc. And as I say, it’s often indicated on the label.
Indeed on Drouhin–when I was there, I was a little startled to find out that they do this–I think–with their Puligny Folatieres (perhaps this is the Pillot, then?), funny enough a plot I have always had a primary association with Drouhin on expression from there.
I just remembered Henri Jouan and then see him mentioned here. His Clos Sorbes has been excellent.
Yeah, Folatières would likely be from Paul Pernot, they are the largest landholders in Folatières. The Pernot label also appears to be based on the old Drouhin label from yesteryear. It’s a long, long connection.