The Jura's rich mix of microclimates and soils has long drawn comparison to the Cote d'Or, located on the other side of the Saone river. In the 19th century, 20,000 hectares were once planted to vines in its rolling hills. Unlike Burgundy, however, it lacked the resources to recover from the ravages of phylloxera, and even today only a small fraction of its potential is being realised — increasingly and rightly the subject of savvy drinkers' attentions, despite tiny yields and tight allocations.
Stephane Tissot is a de-facto ambassador for this extraordinary region. Together with his partner Benedicte, he has combined a passion for the Jura's unique traditions and indigenous varieties with a sincere commitment to sustainable farming and careful winemaking, maintaining serious quality (and biodynamic certification) across a head-spinning range of wines for over thirty years. We're delighted to offer this year's releases from the estate.
Tissot's whites run the gamut from straightforward styles to more idiosyncratic local specialities. The single-vineyard Chardonnays achieve a purity and smoky minerality that many in Burgundy would greatly envy, unburdened by excessive new oak. Intensely expressive of their respective terroirs, the clay-heavy soil of Bruyeres creates flinty weight, and the limestone-heavy La Mailloche site provides firm backbone and freshness. Rose Massale (white, despite the name) is made from a vanishingly rare pink-skinned mutation with a distinctly floral character.
Savagnin is an ancient grape and a distant parent to many more famous varieties; Jura producers are rightly proud of its quality and intensity. It is used to make the most famous Jura speciality of all: vin jaune, aged undisturbed under a layer of benevolent local yeast (the voile) for 63 months in underfilled barrels. The unique process results in a complexity and power few wines can match: sherry-like salinity, rich with walnut and spice, built to last for decades — an extraordinary match for cheese, ideally the local Comte. The pinnacle is their Chateau-Chalon, a historic AOC specific to vin jaune, and Tissot's simultaneous might and delicacy puts it among the world's greatest examples. For a softer introduction, the Sous Voile is aged under yeast in barrel for only 33 months; for something even more exotic, the Amphore sees five months of skin contact and is bottled unfiltered, bursting with citrus, spice and grippy texture.
Trousseau is an indigenous variety to the Jura, marrying the perfume and earth of Pinot with a wildness and power all its own. The Singulier is a classic example, sappy and bright; the Amphore is lifted and complicated by an unusual two-stage maturation in clay amphora and barrel. The DD offers an easy-drinking, crunchy, chillable blend of Trousseau, Pinot Noir and the local Poulsard. All of these make their way in smaller quantities into their charming, delicious non-vintage cremant Indigene. Their single-varietal Pinot Noir is made using whole clusters, with light, fresh, intensely aromatic results.
On the sweeter side, the Spirale is a pseudo-vin de paille, made with grapes dried for four months on straw (paille) mats and barrel-aged for three years, with rich honeyed residual sugar balanced by a clean line of fresh acidity. Macvin is a real local speciality: marc brandy is combined with reduced unfermented grape must and barrel-aged, resulting in a warming, intoxicating blend of juicy sweetness and heady weight. /NR
