TIMELESS JURA ⌛
by Megan Jones
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Hey, Fionn this Thursday!
As ever, plenty of good stuff to talk about... As I type, we have just received a whopping pallet from Vincent Gross. Including plenty of Try-O, the best value skinsy thing on these shores. Come down to Dan's and let me pour you a glass.
Yesterday, we saw some fox-faced bottles from Bornard land, only a few stragglers left so you better hurry. Plus, a bit of Bouillet too. Keep your eyes peeled, as some more allocated gear will be dropping soon...
Allocations aside, here is an absolute steal from the legendary Marc Colin. A man who can simply do no wrong. Aligote that's done half in steel, half in foudre. Vitality and freshness from steel, and a rounded texture from foudre. Best of both worlds. Class like this rarely comes this cheap. Stock those fridges, summer is around the corner.
Another Aligote from Burgundian stalwart Claire Naudin. Herbal, citrusy, sea breezy. A gorgeous expression at another gorgeous price. If that wasn’t enough a sublime Pinot from 2021. With freshness aplenty this is good to go now but will happily evolve peacefully in the years to come.
Also, we took on a new Jura producer this week. Timeless gear from Domaine Montbourgeau who have been pumping out stellar wines since the early 20th century. You might have ahead of Arbois? Perhaps Poligny? Probably not L’Etoile. Neither had I, but more fool us. We’ve all been missing out on this micro appellation that gets its name ‘the star’ from the limestone soils loaded with fossilized starfish. Not only does this sound cool, but you can actually taste it too. A distinct mineral edge can be found across the range.
I’m a big fan of those ‘natty’ labels with the cute cartoons drawn by the winemaker's kids as much as the next drinker. However, it was mighty refreshing to open up these cases and be greeted with something classic. You know a label that tells you about the wine, where it's from, what it's made from, the boring stuff. So whilst the labels are old school, please don’t judge a book by its cover. They are all thoroughly pulsating. Ripping acidity and the aforementioned saline minerality is their calling card.
Into the oxy thing? Then see here, and here.
The rest are topped-up so less of the heady oxidative notes, more of the ripe fleshy fruit. Firstly, an old vine beast here.
Secondly, a pair of very limited releases here and here. Both from just a few barrels so like 900ish bottles, proper collector's items.
A single varietal Savagnin if you’re a fan of alluring aromatics.
Finally, a joint effort from a few vineyards saved a miserable vintage! Another one-off.
Enough chit-chat, got boxes to unpack, boxes to repack, allocations 2 acquire!
Take it easy,
Fionn
XOXO