Tissot and Jura: modern legends from obscure tradition
From the age of six Stéphane Tissot was a willing volunteer in Dad André's vines. Unlike his brothers, pursuing other careers, Stéphane always knew he was a vigneron. We've worked with Tissot for years but now have access to more wines that we've wanted for ages. The Crémant is fabulous: truly Tissot and utterly Jura while the Patchwork Chardonnay comes from - well, a lot of little bits of vineyards. We even have tiny quantities of the top Chardonnay crus including the Sursis, which was supposed to be replanted to Savagnin to make Chateau Chalon, but is so good it has been granted a stay of execution. André and Mireille started the Domaine in 1962 with a small plot but they now have 50 hectares. Stéphane has been making the wines since 1990, since 1993 with Bénédicte. André was not initially convinced by Stéphane's desire to go organic but the younger couple's success did the trick and unusually the older generation ceded control and retired early. The estate is now biodynamic and comprises some of the best plots in the region.
The Jura is a mountain range between Alsace and the Alps and heavily influences the vineyards but these are not mountain wines as such. In altitude the vineyards are similar to Alsace and Burgundy grand crus. It is tiny, the vineyard area is less than 0.3% of French plantings and production less than 0.2%. There are five permitted grape varieties here: two familiar from Burgundy, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; from Jura comes Savagnin, a white variety, which is the 'founder' vine of the Traminer family, including Gewurz-. Of the reds Trousseau is a relative of Savagnin. You'll know it better as Port grape Bastardo, but nobody seems to know how it got from one place to the other. The other red variety is called Poulsard or Ploussard and it's the biggest of the red wine plantings. Like Trousseau it is naturally very pale - in fact in Jura Pinot Noir is the grape for colour!
To understand Jura wine labels I had to learn some new words for the wine styles. In whites perhaps the most important are ouillé, sometimes floral, meaning the barrels are topped up to resist oxidation; in other words, more or less conventional winemaking but chez Tissot with minimal or no added sulphites. Sous voile or just voile means that a film of flor has covered the surface of the wine as it does in Jerez, partially protecting it from oxidation and imparting a deep, nutty character. Another thing I learned was to decant everything including the whites as another typical Jura trait is a touch of reduction. Jura wines and Tissot in particular are well worth seeking out. They give fabulous character and individuality to any cellar. You should grab some of these while you can and particularly from the excellent 2018 vintage. /CW
Offered subject to confirmation; for shipment Winter 2020-2021
