Description
”Quite intense notes of apple and citrus; there's spicy oak influence too but it's restrained. There's good concentration and fine acidity.
— Jancis Robinson
”Old vines, average 60 years old. South facing, growing on very stony ground. The stone is white and makes for a very reflective surface — when you walk into the vineyard in bright sunlight you need sunglasses, very bright. This is great for photosynthesis. Saint-Romain is a long valley that winds all the way up to the high land, the cool air flows down the valley at night. The wines will always have bright acidity.
— Mark Haisma
The wine
Saint-Romain is one of the Côte de Beaune’s most scenically distinctive villages — a narrow valley that winds up from Auxey-Duresses into the high ground above Meursault, with a ruined medieval castle perched above the vineyards. The setting is dramatic and the wines reflect it. This is not the rich, opulent Chardonnay of the valley floor — it is something more precise, more mineral, and more genuinely interesting at its price.
Le Jarron is a specific lieu-dit on the south-facing slope of the valley — 60-year-old Chardonnay vines growing in the distinctive white limestone soils that Mark Haisma describes with unusual precision: the stone reflects light so intensely that you need sunglasses to walk the vineyard in bright sunshine. That reflected heat aids photosynthesis, while the cool air that flows down the valley at night preserves the acidity that defines Saint-Romain at its best.
Mark ferments and ages the wine in 2,500-litre barrels — enormous old oak vessels that add a subtle texture and breadth without imposing any oak flavour on a wine that needs none. Jancis Robinson’s cask note confirms what the approach produces: apple and citrus, restrained spicy oak, good concentration, fine acidity. Bone dry throughout.
At $84 Le Jarron is one of the most consistent overperformers on the Amitié list — a village wine with the specificity of a Premier Cru and the price of an entry-level Meursault.
Tasting notes
Pale gold. Apple, citrus, white pear, and a distinctive stony mineral quality on the nose — the white limestone soils coming through clearly. The palate is fresh and precise with the bright acidity Mark describes as the defining character of this site. The 2,500-litre barrel ageing adds texture without weight or oak flavour. Long, clean, mineral finish. Approachable now and developing well over the next four to five years. Drink now through 2029.
Service: 12–14°C. White fish, scallops, roast chicken, aged Comté. Works well as an aperitif.
2022 vintage note
2022 was a warm, generous vintage across the Côte de Beaune. For Saint-Romain, where the valley’s cool night air naturally preserves acidity, the vintage adds fruit weight and concentration without sacrificing the freshness that defines this site. More immediately approachable than a cooler year — drink now through 2029.
About Mark Haisma
Mark Haisma is an Australian-born winemaker based in Gevrey-Chambertin since 2007. He trained at Yarra Yering in Victoria before moving to Burgundy, where he built a micro-négociant operation from a rented cellar into one of the most sought-after small productions in the Côte de Nuits.
