WJ Drinks - The Innovations in the Winemaking of Jean-Pierre Guyon since 2020

Jean-Pierre Guyon set up his eponymous Vosne-Romanée-based domaine in 1998, and has from time to time reinvented his viticulture and vinification methods to continually elevate his wines in the face of challenging climate changes.

We trace the pivotal shifts that were implemented in the domaine since 2020  and explores Guyon’s visions behind his innovations.

Vine Management

Having been ECOCERT-accredited since 2012, Guyon’s viticultural techniques have been organic, managing the vines and their surroundings in consultation of the lunar cycle, and using only sulphur and copper as necessary intervention against diseases. Guyon chose to train his vines in tressage, in which vines are braided without having their apex cut off. This practice, which allows vine to grow with their essence fully intact, curbs unwanted vegetative growth while sustaining vine health, as opposed to the more traditional hedging, in which the apex of the vines are cut off.  The tressage technique has been similarly implemented in the vineyards of a number of producers, most famously Domaine Leroy. 

A vineyard with typically-shaped tressage-trained vines.   

 

In 2020, Guyon raised the height of the vine canopy to ensure that the grapes receive more shade from the sun, reducing the risk of sun burn, fruit dehydration, aroma loss  and achieving optimal levels in phenolic ripening.

In 2020, Guyon's vines are braided to reach a higher canopy, providing more shade for the grapes beneath.

Full enforcement of cloud sorting

The laborious hand-destemming vinification technique, which Guyon calls the tri en nuage, or 'cloud sorting', was experimented on selected cuvées in 2020, and subsequently fully implemented in 2021. Guyon’s rendition of this technique involves cutting off individual grape berries and the attached pedicels from their stems.

 

This technique is applied in varying extent on the different cuvées, between 15% to 100%. With intricate consideration, Guyon carefully customise the amount of new oak on each cuvée.

Domaine Jean-Pierre Guyon Cuvée	2020 vintage	2022 vintage
Chorey-Les-Beaune ‘Les Bon Ores’	15% sorting, 0% new oak	100% sorting, 10% new oak
Savigny-Les-Beaune ‘Les Peuillets’	100% sorting, 50% new oak	100% sorting, 40% new oak
Gevrey-Chambertin ‘Les Platières’	15% sorting, 50% new oak	100% sorting, 40% new oak
Vosne-Romanée	15% sorting, 35% new oak	100% sorting, 40% new oak
Vosne-Romanée ‘Les Charmes de Maizières’	100% sorting, 50% new oak	100% sorting, 100% new oak
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru ‘Aux Brûlées’	100% sorting, 100% new oak	100% sorting, 100% new oak (all from Tronçais)
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru ‘En Orveaux’	100% sorting, 100% new oak	100% sorting, 100% new oak (from mixed forests)
Clos Vougeot Grand Cru	100% sorting, 100% new oak	100% sorting, 100% new oak (all from Tronçais)
Echezeaux Grand Cru	100% sorting, 100% new oak	100% sorting, 100% new oak (from mixed forests)

A comparison of how Guyon tweaked the ingredients in the 2020 vintage - the inaugural year in which the cloud sorting technique was fully introduced, and the current 2022 vintage.

 

New Ageing Processes, as demonstrated in the new project ‘Mes Nuages’

Guyon created a new cuvée named ‘Mes Nuages’, literally ‘My Clouds’, launced in the 2022 vintage. Being classified Vin de France, it blends wines from various plots in Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune.

In this cuvée, he explores a progressive vinification method that can possibly dissipate the unpleasant qualities in the wines of increasingly the hot vintages as observed in recent years.

Guyon ventured into the use of sandstone, which he gauges to be equivalent to barrels 3 - 4 years of age. He believed that the sandstone material would convey the role of returning the grapes to the earth. The wine was aged  in 100% new oak barrels for 1 1/4 year, and subsequently transferred to sandstone vessels, where it ages for  another 1 1/2 years.

The results - a beautiful cuvée of pure, bright and fresh red fruits, merely tinted by subtle hints of wood.

Guyon currently brands this cuvée as his showpiece as a vigneron, without bias or distraction from terroir. 

Guyon discloses his intentions to further experiment with 50% oak - 50% sandstone vinification in his regular cuvées in the next vintage, so we could probably use the characteristics of 'Mes Nuages' to interpret his visions in the future vintages - to produce a more delicate, elegant style with lighter touch of oak and more fruit prominence.

The wines in Domaine Jean-Pierre Guyon have fared consistently well over the decades, with all cuvées proven their abilities in ageing beautifully. Guyon's recent innovations seek to defy the threats in the climate changes, and take the forefront in embracing modern sensibilities in wine.