Introducing Trousseau from Domaine de l'Octavin!
11/02/11 -
One of the most satisfying aspects of a buying trip to France is the eventual arrival in the US of a wine you adored when you were there. An eternity seems to go by between your initial infatuation with the wine and its docking in the US, a period of deal-making and label approval, pickup, container consolidation, and shipment, long enough to push the memory of the wine into a far corner of your memory, until – joy of joys – the wine reaches the US, available to be thirstily guzzled at home as well as shared with friends and customers alike. Such has been my experience with 2010 Trousseau “les Corvees” from Domaine de l’Octavin in Arbois.
I met Alice Bouvot of l’Octavin – a razor-sharp, opinionated, firecracker of a woman - a year and a half ago. She was traveling without her husband and partner, Charles Dagand, representing her relatively new Domaine (created in 2005) to an audience of New York wine professionals, enthusiasts, and writers. I wasn’t smitten with her wines that day, but I respected her passion, her impetus to work organically and without chemicals throughout the winemaking process from the vineyard to the mis en bouteille. Imagine my surprise and delight when, a year later, my visit to Domaine de l’Octavin in May turned out to be one of the most exciting tastings of my trip.
Alice and Charles are young vignerons; Alice studied viticultural engineering in Bordeaux before obtaining her oenology degree in Dijon. Charles also studied oenology in Burgundy before working at La Fruitiere Vinicole D’Arbois, where Alice found and poached him to be her cellar master. They settled on the Jura as a place to create their Domaine (at first three hectares now just shy of five) as well as to start their family; two events that occurred simultaneously. When we saw Alice and Charles in May, we were greeted by their two boys, the shy Celestin and the sociable Anatole, whose desire to ride the couple’s tractor indicated an inclination toward viticulture. What impressed me most speaking to Alice and, to some extent Charles, though he seems the more introverted of the pair, is their absolute commitment to making wine without chemicals. They became organically certified by Ecocert in 2007 and biodynamically certified by Demeter in 2010. They do not add yeast and, since 2008/2009, make their wines without any sulfur and, of course, no fining or filtration. Some wines are made in stainless steel, others in used barrels. In previous vintages, the wines showed some reduction, but the recent releases have been open and pretty, clean and captivating. Above all, the wines reflect a non-interventionist approach to winemaking; they want the taste of the grapes and the soil that bore them to be clearly expressed in the wines. The wines we tried with Alice and Charles were delicious across the board, but our favorite, by far, was Trousseau from the “Corvees” vineyard, a lieu-dit known for producing fantastic Trousseau. This is an ethereally light and delicious wine that thrilled us with its alcohol percentage (12!) as well as its fabulous label, designed by Monsieur and Madame Grosjean of Le Blog d’Olif, a French wine blog devoted to reviewing wines from the Jura. (Call the store for an explanation of the label’s pun… ) Alice and Charles are doing great work now, and, assuredly, l’Octavin will be a Domaine to watch in the future. Drink up! -Sophie
