JCB Pure Vodka Burgundy France Jean-Charles Boisset 750ml

Jean-Charles Boisset was born in Vougeot, Burgundy — a village so thoroughly immersed in wine culture that its most famous building is a 12th-century château that the Cistercian monks built specifically to vinify their Clos de Vougeot, the most celebrated grand cru vineyard on the Côte de Nuits. Growing up surrounded by the world's most obsessively studied terroir, the world's most precise winemaking traditions, and the world's most intensely varietal-specific grapes left its mark. When Boisset launched JCB Spirits in 2018, he asked the most specifically Burgundian question possible: what happens when you make vodka the way Burgundy makes wine?

The answer is JCB Pure Vodka — the only vintage Burgundian vodka in the world, produced once per year from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes hand-selected from the Côte-d'Or and treated with the same seriousness that those varieties receive in their most celebrated bottlings. The grapes are sorted by hand. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are fermented separately — individually, in French oak barrels, where they rest for six months before blending, then two additional months for the flavors to meld. This is not the production philosophy of a vodka distillery. It is the production philosophy of a Burgundy domaine, applied to a spirit category that has almost never been made this way.

After the six-month barrel fermentation and aging, the wine is distilled once in a copper pot and six times in copper columns — seven distillations total, then filtered four times. The resulting spirit carries something that no grain vodka can carry: the genuine aromatic and flavor identity of the most celebrated wine-growing appellation in the world. Wine Enthusiast, tasting it blind, confirmed it: "subtle fruit notes, reading almost like a mild eau-de-vie — the finish is surprisingly complex and elongated, showing charcoal, fruit and a hint of cinnamon on the exhale." Wine.com found "an expressive nose of blueberries, lavender, and vanilla bean — flavors of summer roses, gardenia, and a continuous perfume." This is what the Côte-d'Or tastes like when someone has the courage to make vodka from it.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Jean-Charles Boisset was born and raised in the village of Vougeot, in the heart of Burgundy's Côte de Nuits, where his family — the Boisset family, founders of Boisset Family Estates, one of Burgundy's most significant négociant and domaine operations — shaped his understanding of wine, terroir, and luxury from childhood. Today Boisset divides his time between Burgundy and California, where he operates DeLoach Vineyards, BV Winery, and a portfolio of Sonoma and Napa properties alongside his French holdings. In 2018, he launched JCB Spirits — a collection of luxury vodkas and gins that apply the Burgundian winemaking philosophy to spirit production, including the world's first caviar-infused and truffle-infused vodkas.

JCB Pure Vodka is the cornerstone of the JCB Spirits range and its most specifically terroir-driven expression. The production begins in the vineyards of Burgundy's Côte-d'Or — the golden slope whose south and southeast-facing limestone and clay hillsides produce two of the world's three or four most celebrated grape varieties. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are hand-selected from estate vineyards, sorted by hand at the winery, then crushed and fermented individually — each variety processed separately to preserve its distinct aromatic and flavor character through the early stages of production. Both wines ferment and age in French oak barrels for six months, then are blended together and allowed to meld for two additional months before distillation.

The distillation program is the most rigorous available: one distillation in a copper pot still — which preserves the most complex, most aromatic, and most terroir-expressive compounds from the wine base — followed by six distillations in copper column stills, which progressively refine the spirit toward the purity and smoothness that vodka requires while preserving the subtle fruit and floral character of the Burgundian grapes. Four filtrations remove any remaining impurities. The finished vodka is bottled at 40% ABV / 80 proof in a heavy, decanter-style bottle that reflects the luxury positioning of the JCB collection. Made once per year — the annual production schedule of a wine estate, not a distillery.

Critics Reviews

Wine Enthusiast (Kara Newman — blind tasting, confirmed):
"Made in France's Burgundy region from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. The aroma is neutral, while the palate displays subtle fruit notes, reading almost like a mild eau-de-vie. The finish is surprisingly complex and elongated, showing charcoal, fruit and a hint of cinnamon on the exhale. Presented in an elegant, weighty decanter."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Crystal clear — the seven distillations and four filtrations producing absolute clarity. The nose is more expressive and more specifically aromatic than any grain vodka: blueberries, lavender, and vanilla bean lead the most specifically and the most memorably Burgundian aromatic profile — the Pinot Noir's delicate berry character and the Chardonnay's floral and vanilla-adjacent qualities translating directly into the spirit even after distillation. Summer roses and gardenia add a specifically and continuously perfumed floral quality — "a continuous perfume" in Wine.com's precise characterization. Almond adds a subtly nutty secondary note.

Palate
Smooth and creamy with subtle fruit notes — "reading almost like a mild eau-de-vie" in Wine Enthusiast's most accurately specific characterization, the comparison to Burgundy's fruit-based spirit tradition being more precise and more revealing than any standard vodka descriptor. Vanilla and almond carry the primary flavor character. Blood orange and citrus add brightness. Summer roses and gardenia carry the floral dimension from nose to palate with uncommon persistence for a vodka.

Finish
Surprisingly complex and elongated — the Wine Enthusiast's most specifically memorable characterization of what distinguishes JCB Pure Vodka from every standard premium vodka at the moment of truth. Charcoal, fruit, and a hint of cinnamon appear on the exhale, carrying the finish well beyond what the neutral nose initially promised. A continuous perfume that lingers.

Quick Overview

Cocktail Suggestions

Neat or Chilled — the most specifically recommended serve for a vodka of this aromatic complexity. Serve from the freezer or well-chilled to allow the floral and berry character to express without alcohol heat.

JCB Martini
2.5 oz JCB Pure Vodka · ½ oz dry vermouth · expressed lemon twist. The most specifically and the most elegantly appropriate cocktail application — the floral, berry, and gardenia character elevating the Martini's aromatic profile beyond any grain vodka expression.

JCB Spritz
1.5 oz JCB Pure Vodka · 3 oz Champagne or premium Prosecco · slice of fresh raspberry. The Burgundian grape character aligning directly with sparkling wine in the most specifically and the most naturally complementary serve available.