A Handful of Tissot!
Domaine Andre et Mireille Tissot, begun in 1962, is in Montigny-les-Arsures, just a few kilometers from Arbois. Stéphane, their son, took over in 1990 and has slowly but surely established the Tissot name as an important one in the history of Jura wine. A tireless vigneron, Stéphane farms between 45 and 50 hectares biodynamically, travels to distant lands as a spokesperson for the Jura, makes numerous different cuvèes, and is intimately familiar with each of his terroirs. After taking over from his father, André, as the head of the family's estate, Stéphane quickly began leading it in a new direction, eliminating the use of selected yeasts and pushing the farming towards organic methods, a decision he made after meeting Nady Foucault of Clos Rougeard. The domaine received organic certification in 1999, and biodynamic certification 5 years later. Thanks to Stephane's tireless work, the Tissots are regarded as one of the most important producers of the Jura, and their belief of and focus on well-farmed, well-made wine has never wavered.
Though most of his wines are from the Arbois appellation, Stéphane has vineyard land all over the northern part of the region. In the cellar, we think of Stéphane as being a modernist. He uses some new wood; his vineyard specific Chardonnays are at times reminiscent of white Burgundies. Most of his white wines are topped up, yet his sous voile Savagnin proves him to be more than capable of making excellent “traditional” Jura white wine. His red wines are elegant and seamless, some oak kissed, others the essence of freshness. He leaves the impression of being a perfectionist, each wine impeccably executed in the style he has chosen, an especially impressive feat given the size of the domaine.
Today's offer is for a handful of cuvees, all in tiny supply. With Jura wine production always teetering or dwindling (though we hear 2023 was a more bountiful harvest than the previous... 8 years?), never booming or multiplying, and with the cat out of the bag so to say, it's harder and harder to get Stéphane's wines and they keep creeping up in price. It's not like the old days when Jura was a secret word that a small circle of wine geeks spoke to each other, but we should see that as a good thing in many ways! Stéphane has been working for decades to show the world how special the Jura is and his persistent efforts have made a big difference. Burgundy drinkers who poo pooed the Jura now request Tissot's top whites! Geeks are now cool (wish that happened in high school) and Jura is almost too cool now, but the amazing wines and producers keep us coming back, even with the hipness and the prices. Sometimes it sucks to be a wine nerd, but drink a bottle of Tissot and you'll remember why there's no turning back. -EL
