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Stéphane Tissot's Jurrasic Kaleidoscope
Each year the wines of the Jura exceedingly move into the consciousness of more drinkers. Those who've explored Burgundy from top to bottom end up with eyes set on this tiny region located 50 miles east. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are also produced here, but it's their obscure and native red varieties like Trousseau and Poulsard that conjure unrivaled fascination. And there's no ambassador who's put the Jura on the worldwide stage quite like its leading man, Stéphane Tissot.
Today, I'm happy to offer six wines from Stéphane Tissot that tell the unique story of the Jura like few others can.
Tissot took control of his family's domaine in 1990 and worked very quickly to drastically reduce yields and convert the vineyards to organic and biodynamic viticulture - Today Stéphane is seen as one of the world's most respected and prominent voices on the subject.
He produces over 25 different wines, all coming from relatively small parcels with a focus on micro-terroir expression. Sulphur in the cellar is kept to bare minimum and strict attention to detail allow the wines to flourish in their flair for extreme purity of fruit and liveliness that separate them from his contemporaries.
At tastings in the Jura you're very likely to start with the light bodied reds before moving into the rich and textured white wines of the region. Trousseau and Poulsard are both transparent in color, and both tend to stay in a more red fruit spectrum.Trousseau picks up notes of leather, while Poulsard showcases wild spices and a more ethereal nature.
Many producers choose to make blends with both, adding Pinot Noir to display the full story of the region. While limestone and clay are prominent throughout the Jura, shale and grey and blue marl are also present in Tissot's home of Arbois - An appellation that surprisingly was one of the very first in France to receive AOC status in 1936.
Hand de-stemming is rarely seen anywhere in the world of wine, but for top cuvées in the Jura it has become somewhat of a classic method. Extremely labor intensive, but yielding the very most pristine fruit possible.
The hand de-stemmed Trousseau spends six months on its skins in a 420-liter clay amphora. An extremely rare wine for the US that's allocated in single cases. The texture stands out from just about any red wine I've come across. It's at once broad and deeply textured, but extremely mineral-driven and focused on the palate. Those notes of bright red fruits are met with that quintessential leather trait that's so particular with Trousseau.
Tissot's two whites, Patchwork and Graviers are both comprised of 100% Chardonnay. Each has that unmistakable reductive, flinty note that's often referred to as Noble Reduction. If you're a fan of the wines of Jean-Marc Roulot and Coche-Dury in Meursault, this distinctive smokey and matchstick trait, at its best, adds an utterly mesmerizing personality to Chardonnay.
Patchwork comes from a mix of clay parcels and limestone parcels, hence the name. This offers a perfect introduction to this style of fresh Jura Chardonnay that can rival examples found an hour west in Meursault and Puligny Montrachet. Aged in mainly neutral oak barrels, with up to 10% new wood.
Graviers is Tissot's expression of pure limestone soils. The reductive element we see in Patchwork is ramped up a notch and the finely-etched mineral component is more focused and tight here.
Today, I'm happy to offer six wines from Stéphane Tissot that tell the unique story of the Jura like few others can.
Tissot took control of his family's domaine in 1990 and worked very quickly to drastically reduce yields and convert the vineyards to organic and biodynamic viticulture - Today Stéphane is seen as one of the world's most respected and prominent voices on the subject.
He produces over 25 different wines, all coming from relatively small parcels with a focus on micro-terroir expression. Sulphur in the cellar is kept to bare minimum and strict attention to detail allow the wines to flourish in their flair for extreme purity of fruit and liveliness that separate them from his contemporaries.
At tastings in the Jura you're very likely to start with the light bodied reds before moving into the rich and textured white wines of the region. Trousseau and Poulsard are both transparent in color, and both tend to stay in a more red fruit spectrum.Trousseau picks up notes of leather, while Poulsard showcases wild spices and a more ethereal nature.
Many producers choose to make blends with both, adding Pinot Noir to display the full story of the region. While limestone and clay are prominent throughout the Jura, shale and grey and blue marl are also present in Tissot's home of Arbois - An appellation that surprisingly was one of the very first in France to receive AOC status in 1936.
Hand de-stemming is rarely seen anywhere in the world of wine, but for top cuvées in the Jura it has become somewhat of a classic method. Extremely labor intensive, but yielding the very most pristine fruit possible.
The hand de-stemmed Trousseau spends six months on its skins in a 420-liter clay amphora. An extremely rare wine for the US that's allocated in single cases. The texture stands out from just about any red wine I've come across. It's at once broad and deeply textured, but extremely mineral-driven and focused on the palate. Those notes of bright red fruits are met with that quintessential leather trait that's so particular with Trousseau.
Tissot's two whites, Patchwork and Graviers are both comprised of 100% Chardonnay. Each has that unmistakable reductive, flinty note that's often referred to as Noble Reduction. If you're a fan of the wines of Jean-Marc Roulot and Coche-Dury in Meursault, this distinctive smokey and matchstick trait, at its best, adds an utterly mesmerizing personality to Chardonnay.
Patchwork comes from a mix of clay parcels and limestone parcels, hence the name. This offers a perfect introduction to this style of fresh Jura Chardonnay that can rival examples found an hour west in Meursault and Puligny Montrachet. Aged in mainly neutral oak barrels, with up to 10% new wood.
Graviers is Tissot's expression of pure limestone soils. The reductive element we see in Patchwork is ramped up a notch and the finely-etched mineral component is more focused and tight here.