Jean-Jacques Confuron

In the village of Premaux-Prissey, situated south of Nuits-Saint-Georges, the Domaine Jean-Jacques Confuron is one of those Burgundian estates that rarely seek the limelight. It covers just 8.5 hectares, spread across 13 appellations in the Côte de Nuits, and includes two Grand Cru plots that have belonged to the family for several generations. The current winemaker is Louis Ménier, a fourth-generation member of the family managing the estate.

History

The estate’s history dates back to the 1926 marriage of Jean Confuron of Vosne-Romanée and Anne-Marie Bouchard of Premaux, who combined the vineyards of both families and began selling their own bottled wine in the early 1930s. Jean died in 1965. Their two sons, Jean-Jacques and Christian, worked together on the estate until 1980, when they divided it between themselves. Jean-Jacques died in January 1983, leaving the management of the estate to his wife André Noëll and their daughter Sophie. In 1985, Sophie began working alongside Alain Ménier, whom she had met at the agricultural college in Beaune, and they eventually married. A turning point came in 1988, when André inherited 1 hectare of vineyards from her grandfather Charles Noëll, including key plots in Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Nuits-Saint-Georges Boudot and Vosne-Romanée Baux-Monts.

Today, winemaking is in the hands of Sophie and Alain’s son, Louis, who is assisted by his wife, Justine Clergeret, from Vougeot. Louis described his approach simply: no radical changes, just fine-tuning.

Vineyards

8.5 hectares are spread across 13 different appellations, from Chambolle-Musigny in the north to Côte de Nuits-Villages in the south. The Grand Cru holdings consist of two plots of 0.5 hectares each: Romanée-Saint-Vivant, where the vines are believed to have been planted in 1926, and Clos de Vougeot, planted in 1965.

The Premier Cru plots include Vosne-Romanée Les Beaux Monts (0.3 ha, planted in 1945), Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Chabouffes (0.48 ha, partly planted in 1957 with a mass selection replanting in 2011), Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Boudots (0.3 hectares, planted in the 1950s) and Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru from Les Chatelots and Feusselottes, a third of which was planted in the 1940s.

The Village-level plots cover Chambolle-Musigny, Nuits-Saint-Georges and Côte de Nuits-Villages. All vineyards have been cultivated using organic methods since 1991.

Terroir

The plots cover the full spectrum of Côte de Nuits characteristics. Romanée-Saint-Vivant, situated between La Romanée-Conti and La Tâche, lies on shallow marl and limestone soils at the foot of the Vosne-Romanée slope and produces refined wines. Clos de Vougeot, one of Burgundy’s largest Grand Crus, has deeper and more varied soils.

The Premier Crus of Nuits-Saint-Georges tend towards firmer tannins and more structured wines, whilst Chambolle-Musigny provides a lighter, floral contrast.

Grape Varieties

Around 95% of the estate’s vineyards are planted with Pinot Noir. The remainder consists of small plots of Chardonnay and Aligoté.

Winemaking

The grapes are generally destemmed, with the proportion adjusted from vintage to vintage. During fermentation, the grapes are more often submerged in the must than pumped over, a traditional approach that prioritises texture extraction over colour.

The wines are aged in oak barrels, with the proportion of new barrels gradually decreasing under Louis’s guidance. The use of sulphur is kept to a minimum, which is another priority for Louis. The wines are made for cellaring: in their youth they are dense and reserved, developing slowly.

Wines

The range includes 13 appellations.

In the entry-level range, ‘Côte de Nuits-Villages’ serves as a starting point. Above these in quality are the wines of ‘Chambolle-Musigny’ and ‘Nuits-Saint-Georges’, followed by four Premier Crus: Les Chaboeufs and Aux Boudots in Nuits-Saint-Georges, Les Beaux Monts in Vosne-Romanée, and a Premier Cru blend from Chambolle-Musigny. Two Grand Crus, Clos de Vougeot and Romanée-Saint-Vivant, crown the range. Les Chaboeufs, made from grapes grown on the estate’s oldest vines, is consistently cited as one of the estate’s most expressive wines.