Nothing says “Spring!” like a Bottle of Poulsard …
4/3/14 -
How do wines come to take on seasonal character? With central heat and air conditioning, we can turn our domiciles into saunas in December if we feel like sipping a crisp Sancerre, and refrigerators in July if we fancy a nice bottle of Piorat. Yet even in an age when we’re at liberty to escape the reality of climate if we chose, wines have a distinct seasonality. Bottles of Burgundy and mature Barolo taste especially delicious in the fall; Châteauneuf-du-Pape pairs exceptionally well with falling snow in winter; Rosé hits its stride as the summer days grow long and the air becomes sultry. Yet what do we drink in the spring? Which wines mirror the delicate breezes, the pastel colors, the thrilling sense of excitement and possibility that characterize this princess of seasons? We venture to propose the wines of the verdant, rolling hills of the Jura. Rich, mineral and acid driven, often oxidative, and sometimes marked by the unmistakable aromas of voile, the whites of the Jura strike us as wines for late winter evenings, while the ethereally pale, high-toned, aromatic red wines of the region could not be more well-suited to spring ingredients as they begin to flood our markets and grocery stores. It’s a match made in heaven. (We recommend refraining from any attempts to pair Jura wine with Cadbury Cream Eggs … )
This is a very good time to peruse our list of Jura selections. A month ago the shelves were relatively bare; we’ve since loaded them with delicious offerings from Nicole Deriaux of Domaine Montbourgeau, Jacques Puffeney, Stéphane Tissot, and more. These names will no doubt be familiar to many, but to those as yet uninitiated, the wines of Domaine Montbourgeau are some of the most traditional Jura wines we see here in New York. Based in Étoile in the central to southwestern part of the Jura, Étoile terroir is marked by the presence of fossilized starfish in the soil. In truth we see hardly any wine from Étoile here in the US, but we are always happy to have the remarkable wines of Domaine Montbourgeau on our shelves.
As traditional a vigneron as they come, for many years Jacques Puffeney’s name was synonymous with the Jura. Based in Montigny-les-Arsures, just three kilometers from Arbois (the red wine capital of Franche-Comte), Puffeney makes some of the most age-worthy wines of the region. We still swoon from time to time at the memory of a ’99 half bottle of Poulsard savored at restaurant Jean Genet in downtown Arbois … Stéphane Tissot, ambassador of the region, tireless vineyard manager and cellar wizard, is perhaps the Jura’s most notable innovator. Always seeking new ways to bring terroir to the bottle with minimal manipulation in the cellar, Tissot’s wines are impeccably made in a softer-edged style than those of Puffeney and Montbourgeau. We salute him for his genius, his energy, and the sheer deliciousness of his wines. In fact whether your tastes lean toward the traditional, the natural, or the innovative, there’s something on this list for you to toast the arrival of spring. Santé! -Sophie
