NV Tissot (Bénédicte et Stéphane / André et Mireille) Crémant du Jura Brut

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Organic Jura, Alella and Beaujolais, 6/14/2017

  (NV Domaine Tissot Cremant de Jura) Hello friends. As you know, Full Pull has been upping its game when it comes to offering white, rosé, and bubbly. The story goes: you, our list members, asked for more variety of lighter-style wines. We, Full Pull, listened. While everyone loves robust, beefy Washington reds, sometimes you just want a crisp, acid driven white… or a celebratory glass of sparkling wine... perhaps a food-friendly rosé. Now that we’ve moved into summertime temperatures and late sunsets, light wines are beckoning. Many of our own staff members have shifted our wine buying to focus more on wines that are ready to drink now, or wines that see the exciting effects of age a lot quicker than their red counterparts. Today, we’ve got three wines from three different regions around Europe. And as a special treat, all of these wineries are either certified organic, or undergoing the process of certification currently. The Jura is a small, remote, mountainous region of eastern France. Located between Burgundy and Switzerland, the wines from the region are heavily influenced by both. This is a cool climate growing area heralded for unusual and distinctive wines. Partly because it’s so cold, the Jura is known for its sparkling wines, with roughly 1/4th of the wines produced being crémant. Done in the champenoise method, these sparklers always represent undeniable value. When it comes to Jura, Stéphane Tissot is among the leading growers in Arbois, the most well-known appellation of the region. His estate, Domaine Tissot, was founded by his family in 1962. Stéphane took over 30 years later, converting the estate to full organic farming and production in 1999. The winery’s major focus is terroir, and it produces almost 30 distinct bottlings to show the differing soil within their own estate. The Cremant du Jura is the only blend they make. A blend of 50% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, and 5% each of Poulsard and Trousseau, this crémant is an outstanding example of sparkling excellence outside of Champagne. It’s bready on the nose with lemon, grapefruit, cloves, and limestone minerality. The palate is ultra dry and medium bodied with an almost-plush, creamy mouthfeel that gets cut through with racy acidity. It’s a substantial wine that still feels light and clean throughout. Drink a bottle of this wine wherever you would normally drink a bottle of Champagne. Or, given the price point, perhaps drink two bottles of this wine wherever you would normally drink a bottle of Champagne.

RJonWine.com

• By Richard Jennings
  6/12/2011, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 89 points

  (NV Tissot (Bénédicte et Stéphane / André et Mireille) Crémant du Jura Brut) Light peach yellow color with small amount of tiny bubbles; a little oxidized, apricot, peach, chalk, yeast, mineral nose; a touch oxidized, tart apricot, tart peach, mineral, apple palate; medium-plus finish