Domaine Jean-Marc Vincent - Photo Courtesy of IPO Wines

Jean-Marc Vincent Just Arrived
Cult-Burgundy

DRC, Leroy, Arnoux-Lachaux, Coche-Dury, Hubert Lamy, Dureuil-Janthial and Domaine Jean-Marc Vincent all have plenty in common.

At some point in each of these domaines’ histories, some more recent than others, these domaines became noted for their quality, their farming, their consistency in the face of adverse conditions, and their overall market demand and fame.

Perhaps you are scratching your head at that last part especially when it comes to Jean-Marc Vincent, which for many of you is a Burgundy domaine you may never have even heard of, let alone tasted.

But the demand and fame for Jean-Marc Vincent’s wines has already begun. The movement, if you will, is underway. Restaurants and collectors across Europe and the USA are coveting these wines and hoarding them. Yes, big name Burgundy collectors are buying Santenay!

I personally like to equate Jean-Marc Vincent with Olivier Lamy of Domaine Hubert Lamy. The two are more than acquaintances, they are peers that have embraced the challenges of producing wines in lesser known villages, raising the bar and awareness of their respective corners of Burgundy. Lamy and his father have recemented the fame and quality of Saint-Aubin with Olivier Lamy becoming one of the most admired and idolized farmers of the region. Jean-Marc Vincent is accomplishing what it took the Lamys two generations to do. With the rapid speed of the Burgundy market, that hyper-awareness of the marketplace today, compounded with the knowledge-technology advancements in Burgundy, and you get a farmer in Santenay that is producing world class wines that is getting lots and lots of attention. 

William Kelley of the Wine Advocate devoted an entire issue to featuring Jean-Marc Vincent in August of 2021. A feature that is widely detailed and accurate that has only further fueled the demand for these wines much like Mr. Kelley’s feature on Dureuil-Janthial. 

Where Jean-Marc Vincent and Olivier Lamy really intersect is in the farming. The concept of high density planting of vines in the vineyards that require minimal machinery and more man-horse power. The extra tight spacing of the vines controls the vine vigor and grape production naturally, promotes and forces the vines to dig deep for water and so far from all the professional tastings held yields wines that are more complex and concentrated than the parcels that are traditionally spaced. Lamy has been producing side by side comparisons for years and the results have been astonishing. Jean-Marc Vincent on the other hand is all in on the high density planting of the vineyards and the past five to ten harvests have really begun to show the change and quality in his wines. 

"Today, the vignerons of glamorous Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin are increasingly experimenting with higher canopies, working with ultra-lightweight engines that drive between the rows instead of heavier tractors that straddle them. But Jean-Marc Vincent has been working like that for more than a decade. And as his winemaking becomes ever more accomplished with each passing year, I sense that we’re witnessing a producer entering his prime. Were he located in a more glamorous appellation, indeed, Jean-Marc would have been inundated by requests for tastings from the Anglophone press for years." –William Kelley, the Wine Advocate

It is also not only with Lamy that Jean-Marc Vincent intersects but also Leroy and those that have opted for lower trained vines with higher and focused canopies. It is these bold farming practices of high density planting, controlled and ample canopies with organic practices that sets Jean-Marc Vincent apart. What he has undertaken and achieved since 1998 is unheard of in the landscape of Burgundy. His drive and determination has resurrected his family’s vineyards that were bulked out and ravaged by economically driven negociants. ]

Jean-Marc Vincent joins a stable of epic Burgundy estates where he rightfully deserves a seat at that table. His whites are luxurious white Burgundy that are the perfect complement to Coche-Dury and Raveneau. Yet his reds are the real hidden gems. Balanced, pretty with good freshness the reds are actually a bit shy and reserved on release but with a few years of cellaring or ample aeration these blossom into headturners overnight. The lift in the wine jumps, the nose explodes and the myriad aromatics of florality and savoriness take command. You will easily forget you are drinking Santenay and that is ok. 

This is the leading producer of Santenay who is not only restoring the glory of his family’s vineyards but the whole of Santenay. 

Cheers,
Jeremy

High-density plantings of massal selections, high canopies that are either hedged late or interwoven by hand, soils cultivated using small caterpillar-tracked engines instead of tractors, long macerations with significant percentages of whole bunches and long élevage on the lees—these are just some of the pieces of the puzzle. If Jean-Marc's 2020s set a new benchmark for contemporary Santenay, his 2022s come close to rivaling them: complex, textural whites of substance and structure and serious, sapid reds that will reward patience. - William Kelley the Wine Advocate