The genius and craftsmanship of Jean-Yves Bizot defy understanding: his wines evolve and change from vintage to vintage, yet they always retain their unmistakable, unique style. His feeling for wine is as complex an idea as time itself – or rather, its passage. And just when we manage to grasp even a fraction of the meaning of his wines, they slip away and move ahead, just like time. At least, these are my impressions from his wines and from meeting Jean-Yves during a visit to his domaine many years ago.
In his hands, wine becomes an accompaniment to the transformation of grape juice through the sensitivity of a true master. In this sense, it is almost like providence, because he does nothing overtly “spectacular” or theatrical. This, to me, is what truly natural winemaking is – not declarations of naturalness, but a quiet, uncompromising honesty in what ends up in the glass.
The new 2023 vintage marks another step in the evolution of Bizot’s wines. Les Violettes Blanc, made from Chardonnay grown in Vosne-Romanée, is a mind‑bending wine unlike anything else in Burgundy; the fruit comes from the Les Violettes lieu-dit within the Vosne-Romanée appellation, along the wall of Clos de Vougeot. In character it somehow recalls both Montrachet and a Riesling like G-Max at the same time. The nose delivers an incredible concentration of yellow orchard fruits and exotic citrus, layered with notes of gunflint, forest nuts and a fine hint of walnut; on the palate it is viscous, long and enveloping, and thanks to its wild acidity, seemingly endless.
The two reds showed very different profiles. Clos de la Bidaude is perhaps the most complex Morey one can encounter today, a tiny and highly sought‑after monopole cuvée from Morey-Saint-Denis produced in very small quantities. The bouquet is full of ripe wild berries, raspberry and strawberry, seasoned with sweet violet, hibiscus and rooibos; on the palate it is incredibly juicy and long. By contrast, the Vosne-Romanée was wild and expressive, with a more pronounced tannic structure and a far greater range of marinated notes and oriental spices on the nose. What surprised me most was that the two reds started out completely different, yet with time in the glass they gradually drew closer in feel – a final, compelling reminder that, today, it is the winemaker’s mastery that ultimately shapes what a wine becomes.
Text and Photo: Greg Somm
