FRENCH WINE

The Wine Advocate: “A white I had not encountered for a while made its comeback in the 2016 Côtes du Jura Cuvée Oregane, a blend of Chardonnay and Savagnin from vines planted in 1963 and 1969 that often has an herbal, oregano-like nose (hence its name)

This rich and vibrant Chardonnay hails from 80-year-old vines in the Côtes du Jura and ages for three years on its fine lees in large barrels. Notes of yellow apple skin, tart pears, flint, and a touch of honey dominate the wine’s energetic palate. This is natural Chard in one of our favorite forms.
BIODYNAMIC, ORGANIC

WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS - "A new Savagnin bottling, the very young 2017 L'Etoile Savagnin Ouillé Les Budes fermented and aged in 500-liter topped-up barrels, a style that has never been produced at Montbourgeau before. This wine was produced by the son of Nicole Deriaux when he joined the family domaine. It's subtle, mineral and elegant, focused and clean, with floral notes and a soft, round palate. The acidity is neatly integrated into the wine, and it reminds me of some of the wines from Ganevat, with energy and concentration but apparently light on its feet. This is a superb effort for a style they have never produced before."

BIODYNAMIC

An attempt to achieve the maximum expression of those terroirs : our 35 hectares of vineyards are cultivated in bio-dynamic viticulture (certified by Demeter) to allow the soils to live, to have grapes untouched by chemical products, to allow natural yeast fermentations, to reduce the doses of sulfur in the cellar. The Chardonnay barrels are kept topped up, but even so the wines tend to offer a hint of the same nutty character on top of the more classic outline of the Chardonnay grape.

Stéphane’s non-oxidative rendition of the Savagnin grape bears the name Traminer – a common synonym, which flags its relationship to Gewürztraminer (which may have mutated from Traminer/Savagnin). Complex and powerful, herbal and musky notes are backed up by waves of super-ripe citrus and orchard fruit.

Tissot is from an old Jura family (there are enough Tissots in the Jura to keep a genealogist busy for years) and has turned his family’s property into both one of the region’s most dynamic presences—biodynamics, amphorae, all the usual shiny things—as well as one of its bigger landholders, with more than 50 hectares.