Today's wine hails from a historic winery that's situated right at the top of one of the highest points of Saint-Émilion, a small French commune located at the crossroads of Bordeaux, Saintonge and Périgord! 

Saint-Émilion is a place steeped in history, with the commune and its surrounding vineyards actually being declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999! In fact, its history goes back at least 35,000 years to the Upper Paleolithic, and the ancient Romans were known to have planted vineyards there as early as the 2nd century AD. By the 4th century, the wines made on the land was well-received and spoken about. However, the name of the town as we know it today came just a tad later in the 8th century.

Formerly named Ascumbas, the town was named after a Breton monk who died in 767. According to legend, Émilion (a bread-maker), would often bring bread to feed the poor. It was said he performed a miracle by turning loaves hidden in his coat into wood when questioned by a nobleman (he lied that he was simply bringing firewood to the poor). He later founded the Hermitage of Saint-Émilion and lived there until his death. Soon after his passing, the monks of the order began making wine.

The Couvent des Jacobins winery itself dates back to 1389 when it was established by Dominican friars, known as the "Jacobin Brothers". Because it is located in what is originally a 13th century Dominican monastery in Saint-Émilion, if you pay a visit today to the Couvent des Jacobins, you will not only be able to explore its monolithic cellars, but also walk through the former bakery of the friars, which was built in 1389 since been refurbished to become the current tasting room of the estate!   

For nearly four centuries, the friars cultivated vines and produced wine on a prime vineyard just outside the city walls. Couvent des Jacobins was an early exporter, notably to the royal courts of England and France. Over this extensive period, their wines became recognized as some of the most representative of the Saint-Émilion region.

Shortly before the French Revolution, the Dominican brotherhood was dissolved, and the friars departed Couvent des Jacobins around 1780. The property was then confiscated during the Revolution and sold as a national asset. Subsequently, between 1790 and the early 20th century, Couvent des Jacobins came under the ownership of only two families: the Guadet and Vauthier families.

It wasn't until 1902 when the house began to properly become the winemaker that we know today. One Jean Jean, (affectionately known as "kind Jean") acquired Couvent des Jacobins. He later passed the estate to his daughter, Berthe Jean, in 1926. Over the next three decades, Berthe Jean significantly developed the property, including renovating the cement cellar between 1957 and 1965 and expanding the estate with new acquisitions, notably the Saint-Émilion limestone plateau.

In 1969, Couvent des Jacobins was awarded Grand Cru Classé status by the INAO, acknowledging the wines' consistent quality and the family's dedication to preserving the estate.

No doubt, the past decade has been marked by significant initiatives for Couvent des Jacobins, culminating in the domaine's Organic Farming certification in September 2020. This progress prompts reflection on how the original Jacobin Brothers would view the estate's current vitality, over 600 years later.

The house's vineyard spreads over 10.7 hectares with three grape varieties: merlot, cabernet franc and petit-verdot (since 2010), with the average age of the vineyard being about 40 years. The petit-verdot has been included in the blend of Couvent des Jacobins since the 2014 vintage, and is said to bring further aromatic complexity and density to the wine. 

Couvent des Jacobins' vines thrive in four distinct soil types: the limestone plateau directly in front of the estate, sandy-clay with limestone nodules (molasses du fronsadais), sandy-clay on the southwest hill of Saint-Émilion, and clay-limestone on the northeast plateau, bordering the Asteries Plateau. Because of the relatively old age of the vineyard, this is said to give the berries a natural concentration with yields of typically 35 hectolitres per hectare in a given year.

Harvesting is done exclusively by hand into small containers called "cagettes" with initial sorting in the vineyard and a second sorting after destemming at Couvent des Jacobins' centrally located cuvier.  To preserve the berries' integrity, the winery employs gravity-fed vatting, with parcel-specific vatting (typically 0.5 to 1 hectare per vat) emphasized. Petit Verdot is vinified separately in oak. Prioritizing finesse and balance, maceration rarely exceeds 30 days and occurs below 30 degrees Celsius.

(Image source: PIVENE)

The house gravity-barrels the wine in oak, usually during the months of November-December. Generally, they use a maximum of 50-55% new oak as it is believed to preserve fruit finesse. Aging in their Roman cellar lasts 12-15 months, with tastings and racking (2-3 times) as needed.

Couvent des Jacobins Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2016  - Review

The 2016 vintage is a blend of 82% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot. 

Tasting Notes:

Colour: Deep Ruby

Aroma: It opens with such power! Big on those raspberries, roses, soil, all of which engulfed in cigar box aromas of tobacco leaves and cedar. This extends on to dark cherry preserves and plums, along with some cocoa powder. It’s giving loads of red yet darker fruit that’s set upon a canvas of earthiness. Intensely vibrant, it’s rather sensuous and dark, yet at the same time comes off really fresh and energetic.

Taste: Impressive richness here! It continues to heap on those rosy and earthy tones of raspberries, rose petals and fresh soil. It’s silky and velvety, with a satin-like texture, good concentration and a lifted quality to its body. It continues to develop on to dark cherry preserves, plum pies and blackberry jams. A little bit of a confectionary quality here with some streams of vanilla sauce.

Finish: The tannins begin to firm up more here, a little grainy yet well woven. More on dried tobacco leaves, a little bit of soil and clove spices too, with still lots of raspberry jams and plum preserves. It’s a seamless and silky finish here, that finishes off clean and fresh.

My Thoughts:

Wow! The vibrance and vividness here is just something else altogether! It balances intensity of its aromatic expressiveness with this touch of finesse and elegance with its lifted and silky texture, all whilst featuring this well-saturated body. It leans heavily into those red tones of raspberries and roses, along with a side of earthiness, delivering that with good richness throughout. It takes a more tannic turn into the finish, with the tannins getting alittle grainy and more apparent here, yet not throwing the wine off its path, instead giving it this scaffold that guides it towards the seamless finish, with some clove spices along the way to boot.

*Suspiciously racoon-like noises*

Contributed by @Definitelynotthreeracoons