Domaine Antoine Jobard Meursault 2023

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Domaine Antoine Jobard

This is as classy and as consistent a property as you’ll find in Burgundy, and theirs are generally counted among the best Meursaults. Other respected vignerons like Coche and Raveneau hold these wines in the highest esteem and are generous with their praise when Jobard comes up in conversation.

This was the estate (artist?) formerly known as François Jobard, which then changed its name to François & Antoine Jobard and is now simply Antoine Jobard. This reflects the growing importance of the role played by François Jobard’s son, Antoine, who is now fully in control. Antoine has clearly inherited his father’s knack for crafting immaculate, tightly wound white Burgundies from the family’s superb Meursault holdings. And the reds are on the rise, in more ways than one.

The Jobard family draws on an enviable roll call of terroirs—they are arguably the benchmark producer of Genevrières, and this vineyard, along with Poruzots and Charmes, are the marquee holdings. There are also four parcels of Bourgogne and several well-sited village parcels (including the renowned En la Barre and Les Tillets). There is also some Blagny 1er Cru Blanc and some other tiny releases.

Add to this the new Pinot vineyards Antoine took over in July 2019, and the proposition becomes even more mouthwatering. Almost six hectares of vines, including some outstanding red terroirs, entered the fold from the old Pommard-based domaine, André Mussy. Among these are Pommard Epenots, Pézerolles and Les Saussilles, some Volnay villages and three Beaune Premiers Crus. It also opened the door to Bourgogne Rouge and village wines from Volnay and Pommard.

Many cognoscenti are now arguing that the son has already reached greater heights than his father—knowing both of them (and loving both their wines), we try to avoid entering that debate.

François Jobard, who ‘retired’ in 2007 (retired in Burgundy doesn’t necessarily mean ceased to work!), was justly respected for his work in the vines and the profound depth and structure of his wines.

These are striking Meursault wines from one of the village’s reluctant superstars. Being a Meursault estate, there’s no Grand Cru, but the wines are certainly of Grand Cru standard.

“This is benchmark Meursault, where you will taste the essence of the vineyard rather than the winemaker’s idea of what you are looking for.”

Bill Nanson, The Finest Wines of Burgundy

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“Since easing the reins from Jobard père, Antoine Jobard has rapidly become one of Meursault’s go-to winemakers.”

Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate

In the Vineyard

Antoine Jobard follows his father’s growing practices. He despised systemic treatments and cultivation, zero herbicides or pesticides, short pruning and shoot thinning have been the norm for decades. Domaine Antoine Jobard has been organic for 13 years and is now certified.

In the Winery

Though François and Antoine work side by side, Antoine has brought his own signature to the domaine: a more sensuous approachability to the wines, all delicious and ready to drink immediately.

His father’s wines were known for their almost formidable youthful austerity. Without losing any of their taut, chiselled personalities, Antoine’s wines are more open than his fathers when young, and there’s also an added precision, more transparency and perhaps less reduction. The aging is also sometimes a little shorter. Jobard is humble and refuses to take any credit for the plaudits of this ‘new style’, instead putting down any perceived changes to the climate. He also uses less new oak than his father (only 15%), mainly supplied by Meursault’s Damy cooperage. Otherwise, there is no bâtonnage, and Jobard traditionally ferments with a high level of solids, a key to the powerful and ageworthy style. One tradition that irrefutably hasn’t changed here is the ritual of late bottling. Even considering that Antoine bottles a little earlier than his father, this is still one of the last Burgundy domaines to release their wines. The ferments are notoriously slow, and the wines may rest in barrel for 20 months before bottling.

The 2023 Vintage at Domaine Antoine Jobard

Despite the reputation of 2023 as a generous vintage, Jobard kept his yields low thanks to his old vines, short pruning, and thinning where necessary. So, our allocation remains small. Having said this, as Jobard has grown his red holdings (to roughly 50% of his production), we have more wines across the board. And this year, we managed to wrangle a small parcel of Antoine’s stellar 2022s that he had been holding for local restaurants. 

Antoine Jobard noted that the 2023 “growing season was again hot and dry but not as extreme in either case as its 2022 counterpart. There wasn’t a lot of disease pressure, at least nothing really significant, but our Meursault vines did get hit moderately hard by a July hailstorm that cost us, as best as I can tell, around 20% of the potential yield. The good news is that the fruit set was so large that the losses weren’t anything catastrophic. We chose to begin picking on the 1st of September and because the hail damaged berries had time to dry up and fall off, there was very little sorting necessary for the chardonnay. By contrast, the pinot was not nearly as clean and we threw out fully 20% of the crop. We had no problems with either fermentation and I’m impressed with how much they’ve improved during the course of the élevage. As to the wines, they’re definitely rich but fresh and vibrant with surprisingly good terroir transparency given the warmth of the growing season.” As I reported last year, but in case any subscribers missed it, Jobard has chosen to use the Diam brand composite cork for all of his whites. As the ratings and commentaries confirm, I was very impressed by the excellent results that Jobard achieved in 2023 and these are definitely wines to consider adding to your cellars. Lastly, and also as reported last year, several Meursault villages wines that were separately declared in previous years have now been combined – see below for more detail.

Allen Meadows, Burghound

“Since easing the reins from Jobard père, Antoine Jobard has rapidly become one of Meursault’s go-to winemakers.”
Neal Martin, Vinous

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“The whites have Antoine Jobard’s usual sturdy backbone while the reds are deliberately made to be attractively perfumed, for earlier drinking.”
Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy

Where in the World is Domaine Antoine Jobard?

Domaine Antoine Jobard is based in Meursault, Côte du Beaune, Burgundy, France.