Jura Wines, Not Just For Wine Geeks - Three From Tissot

What do you do when you have three bottles of wine which can be described as obscure at best, and which have been staring at you from their corner for over two months? What if these wines were all from the same producer from a little known area in France called the Jura? Well, if you were me, you'd cook a three course meal inspired by the area, and you'd invite some people over who aren't wine geeks but like wine, and you'd see what happens.

All three wines were made by Stéphane Tissot who is now making wine at his family's domaine and is using bio-dynamic practices. With very little intervention, native yeasts and less sulfur, his many cuvees express terroir -  a sense of place. For me, these wines all displayed a minerality best described as a marine like salinity. It was if the vines were pulling the essence of a long dried ocean from the earth.

The Jura, which lies east of Burgundy, south of the Vosges mountains and west of Switzerland, is in the Franche-Comté region of France. The main grape varieties here are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Savignin, Poulsard and Trouseau. Except for those first two varieties, these are grapes that most people have never heard of. It is also where Comté cheese, a Swiss Gruyere type, comes from.

For the sake of transparency and full disclosure: I received two of these wine as samples.

Cremant du Jura and Appetizers


I felt lazy with this course. I asked guests to bring cheeses, pates and baguettes for appetizers. I expressed my preference for Jura inspired cheeses but added that it wasn't absolutely necessary. As it turned out, my guests got into the spirit of it and procured a wild mushroom pate; a duck, chicken, truffle paté; a Morbier cheese and, of course, a Comté cheese. There was also a third cheese, its name...no one could remember. The wine paired best with the Comté and the duck paté as the savory flavors were intensified. It was a flavorsome beginning.

NV  Tissot Crémant du Jura, Brut - Light yellow-gold in appearance with small persistent bubbles. Aromas of medium intensity with a fresh yeasty component, followed by green apples and minor hints of flint and mushroom. The palate had a nice balance of fruit and acidity along with fine to medium bubbles. The flavors and smells in the mouth ranged from apples and lemon to earthy mushroom tones. I also noticed some salinity and umami. Light to medium in body with a clean finish. $19.99. Good+  I think this wine is a fantastic value. Made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and in the traditional method, this wine costs roughly half of what an equivalent Champagne would.



Chardonnay and Scallops

I saw this great recipe for scallops and Morteau, a French sausage, on a website. The Morteau sausage, apparently, is a local specialty in the Jura and is smoked with pine. Unfortunately I can only imagine what it tastes and smells like. The sausage was impossible to locate so I used andouille instead.  The dish was relatively simple. Slice the sausage into thin wheels and then roast  in the oven. Brown the scallops. Slice a fennel bulb into eighths and steam it. Make a sauce with fig vinegar and the scallop juices remaining in the pan. The recipe actually called for raspberry vinegar, but I didn't have any on hand. Put the scallops and sausages on skewers and cook for about a minute in oven. Arrange fennel, scallops and sausages on plates and drizzle with the sauce.

2008 Tissot Chardonnay, Arbois, France - Very pale yellow, almost clear in the glass. Fairly intense aromas of ripe apples with a touch of lemon, marine salty minerality, sweet almonds and chamomile. Soft on the palate except for a little heat, the flavors carry over from the palate seamlessly, including the salinity, and add a touch of creaminess. Medium bodied with a very fine texture. Alcohol as stated on the labe 13%. $25 retail. Very Good-.

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the importer.

 
 

There was a quick interlude, sans wine, with a palate cleanser of roasted beets, blood oranges and raw fennel. 

Poulsard and Chicken

On the same web site I found a recipe for Coq au Vin Jaune et aux Morilles, which is Chicken with Yellow Wine and Morels. I found the yellow wine very hard to find and when I did the cost was prohibitive. I made some adjustments to the recipe, including substituting two bottles of Beaujolais Blanc for the Vin Jaune. I did use morels which added a nice earthy component to the dish and some bacon to kick up the salty fat goodness. The Coq au Vin was served alongside roasted asparagus, and a puree of potato and roasted parsnip. I can't wait for an excuse to make this again. Unfortunately I did not write down my adjustments, so next time may be different.

2007 Tissot Poulsard Vieilles Vignes, Arbois, France - A very brilliant, clear ruby red. On the fairly intense nose, I immediately breathed ripe red cherries, hints of earth, mushroom and forest like cedar notes. This wine also carried smoothly from nose to palate with very pure flavors and had a sour cherry component with a bit of umami, savory character. Not a hint of bitterness, this medium to light bodied wine did have some lingering soft astringency, which gave it very nice length. A beautiful wine that paired very nicely with the dish. Alcohol as stated on the label 12.5%. $25 retail. Very Good.

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the importer.



Dessert

One of our guests made a fabulous dessert to top off the evening. A tiramisu to die for.

At the top of this blog I alluded to the idea that these wines are a bit out of the ordinary,  not only for where they come from, but also, in the case of the Poulsard, for the grape variety used. I also intimated that although these guests like wine, these wines were probably out of their comfort zone. While pouring each wine,  I repeatedly said, "Please be honest if you don't like these wines. I didn't make them, so you won't hurt my feelings." Well, unless everyone was just being polite - and this crowd definitely doesn't fit that description when it comes to wine - the wines were immensely enjoyed by everyone. So, just a friendly reminder; push your boundaries and don't be afraid to push someone else's. Cheers!