Wines with Jean-Francois Bourdy, including the legendary 1868 Marc!

Also see my notes from the Jean-François Bourdy's Decades tasting: One wine from every decade of the 20th century, back to 1904 from last year.

Another fantastic opportunity to drink the ancient wines of Jean Bourdy with the current Patriarch of this storied estate, Jean-Francois Bourdy. Thanks again to E&R for this rare opportunity! This time, with quite a surprise in store for everyone at the end... As per usual, folks arrive and mingle before we sit down for a guided tour through the wines, and lots of fun conversation from Jean-Francois, who is quite the quotable character!

Again, some history... the estate was founded in 1475, and he's still at the same house that was erected at that time! Jean-Francois mentioned that they have barrels in use that have been in the family for 60-80 YEARS! When they're looking to acquire new barrels, which is quite rare, they will only consider buying barrels that are already 10-15 years old. The winery became Demeter certified in 2005. He said this was not to meet some new trend, or to change the style of the wine, which will remain the way it always has been. He does believe that the vines today are stronger than they have ever been.

At some point someone asked him about sulfuring his wines, and he says he does, ever so lightly. He said it would be impossible to keep a wine for 100 years without sulfur. They dose around 5-8 mg/l, which indeed is very low. Someone also asked about how he feels climate change is effecting his wines. He certainly acknowledged that it is occurring, but he doesn't believe it's changing the style or character of his wines at all. He did say that the average harvest dates are now 2-3 weeks earlier than it was 50 years ago. You never see late October harvests anymore, which were the norm before. He does feel the biodynamic farming of the vineyard does help these earlier harvests not impact the wine. He mentioned that until about 1920s or 1930s (except '34, '21, and '11), it was never possible to harvest until the end of October... so there's certainly been a shift. He said Chateau Chalon didn't use to be harvested until November, after the first frost.

Of interesting note for future consumption, he recommended that to drink a young wine, you should wait until it's been open for 3-5 days. The old vintages (15 years plus) should be opened 2-3 hours before first pour.

As we drank the Crémant, Jean-Francois mentioned that he had just started producing a Rosé from 100% Trousseau. There was a bunch of interest in the room, including that of the local importer, who was present. He requested 1000 bottles, to which Jean-Francois said he can have 10 cases... and "it's quite a gift for you." I'll look forward to trying that when it arrives!

• NV Jean Bourdy Crémant du Jura 89 Points

  France, Jura, Crémant du Jura

  Zesty and zippy aromas. Quite smooth, with some apples and minerals (particularly quartz). Creamy palate, offering zesty apples. Very nice mid-palate. Minerals and general zippiness on the finish, with some slight bitter metallicness. Enjoyable. Jean-Francois said the juice from the younger vines is used for the Cremant to produce a lower alcohol, more fruit filled wine. He actually recommended drinking this at 35 degrees Fahrenheit! He says a week in the fridge and it's even better.

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As before, in the Jura, we start with the red wines, because the whites are "so much stronger." He mentioned his wines are not meant as an aperitif, they are meant for food. He says charcuterie, beef, etc. He also pointed out that the only AOC meat in all of France is Pullet Breast, which is from the Jura. He has a recipe cooked with his Vin Jeaune which is amazing. He also mentioned trout with Vin Jeaune. He said throughout France they eat heavy meals, but "the people of Paris are very fragile people," so they eat lighter fair.

• 2009 Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Rouge 92 Points

  France, Jura, Côtes du Jura

  All the fruit here is co-fermented, and this then spent 4 years in the barrel. Interestingly, he only barreled part of the vintage for this bottling, those barrels which he felt were ready (and yes they were all blended together). He believes the next bottling will be "the same," but not sure how it could... will be interesting to compare the two, but as I doubt they'll be labeled uniquely, who knows if you get a bottle from the first or second bottling. Jean-Francois said 2009 was a "very great vintage." It had large quantity, but the fruit was all beautiful, and the wine came in at just 12.6% alcohol.
  
  The aromas here are absolutely gorgeous! The most beautifully fruited Bourdy Rouge I've come across on the nose. There's some funk there too, with a soily earthy undertone, complete with mushrooms. Very sexy and elegant aromas. Palate is soft, mild, and shows great acidity. Fantastic flavors of cherry. The finish attacks with a beautiful eruption of fantastic acidity. Amazing the way the fruit and class linger on the finish. There's gritty tannins for sure, but the acidic, fruit filled finish that lingers is what's impressive. This is drinking so well at such a young age... in fact, the first red Bourdy under 30 years old that I've found fantastic.

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• 1983 Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Rouge 89 Points

  France, Jura, Côtes du Jura

  Jean-Francois mentioned that 1983 was a more difficult vintage than any of those around it ('82, '85, '86...). He says he doesn't believe this wine will last more than 80 years, but yes, 80 years "no problem." 80 years around these parts isn't very much... The color here is not very clear; quite dusty in fact, with an orange tinge to it, almost rust in color. There's tons of sediment in the glass too. The aromas are dusty, and... not much else. Nice palate, like an aged Bordeaux in character. Very dusty flavors and it feels a little bit tired. Tart, and more dust and funk on the finish. Still has tons of acid and tannins lingering, but there's not much fruit going on. Only oil soil and earth.

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• 1979 Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Rouge

  France, Jura, Côtes du Jura

  Jean-Francois mentioned that 1979 is quoted to be an exceptional year, among the 10-15 best vintages of the 20th century. He said it offered a good spring; cold, but not too much rain, and then a really hot summer with plenty of rain (yes, rain's a good thing here).
  
  This wine offered amazingly stewed funkified aromas. Like stewed old tomatoes. The palate is soft, with old fruit flavors. Good tartness and acidity, with pleasant fruit present. Soft, light, and lots of "old" flavors. Green tomatoes on the finish that linger long as the primary note. There's lots of puckering tartness here as well. Lots of structure left for sure, but something's off here... is this quiet? Dumb? There's just really not much going on other than strong acidity. Not sure how this could be one of the finest wines of the century. I have three bottles of this, and not sure where it's headed. Hopefully it'll come around like those great Bourdy's I've had of the '30s and '40s, but I'm not seeing the fruit at present that those wines exhibit today. For some reason I didn't score this wine... probably because my mental score depressed me considering I have bottles.

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• 1956 Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Rouge 93 Points

  France, Jura, Côtes du Jura

  Jean-Francois' father considered 1956 a bad vintage, and no Chateau-Chalon was made. However, he says, "after 57 years it's a good wine." He also mentioned that the 1966 wine started out terrible but now too is an exceptional bottle of wine. Particularly after drinking the 1979 before it that was all stewed tomatoes, this also offered a primary note of stewed tomatoes on the nose, coupled with some funky leafs. The palate entry was very soft, and prettily textured, showing notes of melon (!) and tomatoes. Really nice and mellow, offering soft tartness and fantastic balanced structure in the mouth. The finish is an eruption of acid of impressive depth. A monstrous wall, in fact. It's fantastic, and there's this wonderful grace about it, with broad structure and incredible persistence of its presence going deep on the finish. This got better and better the more time I spent with it.

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While these wines are always called simply "Côtes du Jura", it is and always has been 100% Chardonnay. He says never to drink the wines cold (I guess the bubbly aside), as they will show "almost no flavor". As with the red, he recommends you open these wines in advance, as they take tons of time to come around when young. He also says never to decant any of his wines, as the result is "nothing." Yes, take your patience with the wine, but in the bottle. Slow oxygenation. "The wine has waited 5 years for you... wait for it." He says this is the same as with women... he says, "If you're in a hurry....." and then just offered a long shrug.

• 2008 Jean Bourdy Chardonnay Côtes du Jura 90 Points

  France, Jura, Côtes du Jura

  Tons of sour green apple on the nose. Impressive, somehow. This also smells precisely like lemon cleaning products. Coming back to the wine at the end of the night, those cleaning product notes blew off and in came some nice black licorice. The palate is chunky in texture and thick, tasting of soft lemons. Some black licorice again comes in later. On the finish, this tastes like Cheerios. Chunky feeling on the palate after swallowing, and a little off balance. Again, this got a lot better after an hour, showing loud black licorice on the finish. I intentionally left some in the glass as it didn't feel quite right initially. I'm pretty sure these were nearly popped and poured, and per his comments, these need more time. Even a few hours helped this go from an 87 pointer to 90.

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• 1911 Jean Bourdy Chardonnay Côtes du Jura 92 Points

  France, Jura, Côtes du Jura

  When Jean-Francois smelled this he said, "This will be better in 1-2 hours. It needs to open." Nevertheless, I dive in. This smells like stewed pumpkin sauce. Totally crazy. What a freak show this aroma is; totally wild, and really doesn't smell all that old despite it's 102 years. The palate is quite viscous. Impressively textured body, offering notes of thick lemons. Very crazy texture and depth, and this is now coupled with some soft old peaches. Fantastic depth on the finish, with lovely lemon acids. Tastes young and vibrant, and quite puckering. Softer finish, with lots of lingering notes that are more singular. Very nice as this lingers long...
  
  After drinking this wine and Jean-Francois was asked about the longevity of his wines, and if they ever just crash, he basically said no. He did say, " I don't know why my father kept any 1972." He said he had one, and while it was not dead, it was not good. That's the only vintage he's ever seen this with.

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Right about here our host tells us about the Marc that the estate made in 1868, and mentioned that some of the best soms in the world agreed that it was one of the best liquors ever made. I wonder why he would mention this....?

• 2005 Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Vin Jaune 89 Points

  France, Jura, Côtes du Jura

  This offers rich aromas, though a bit alcoholic. Not much delineation of aroma. Odd pumpkin apple notes on the palate. Tons of spice, and this is very high in acid. Nice presence and persistence, like the pith of lemon. Pretty nice palate, actually. Creamy and rich on the finish, tastes of lemon seed; this is high in acid, but also pretty creamy. I really enjoyed the palate, but the rest of the wine feels a bit awkward at this stage.

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• 1959 Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Vin Jaune 92 Points

  France, Jura, Côtes du Jura

  Stewed squash on the nose. Very odd. It opened up beautifully a little later, though, showing much more depth and interest. Fresh and vibrant palate though, offering nice leemon and impressive complexity and intensity. Fantastic stuff, with a note of hard cheese coming in later. Again, impressive finish, with good depth. More lemon, but very elegant and pretty.

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Jean-Francois mentioned that he sold a bottle of 1781 Chateau-Chalon in the UK last month and he guaranteed in writing the quality of the wine for 30 years! He would not tell us what he sold the wine for. At this point, someone asked him of the greatest old vintages, and he just started rattling them off, and I started writing them down... 1781, 1865, 1868 1893, 1895, 1911, 1919, 1921, 1934, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953... now go find those.

• 2005 Jean Bourdy Château-Chalon 85 Points

  France, Jura, Château-Chalon

  Intense, spicy alcohol notes. Rather astringent on the nose. Some tree flavors on the palate, which is textually chunky and fairly spicy. Funky. Pretty intense palate, though it's awkward. Very spicy finish and again some alcohol coming through. Pretty quiet, and not too descript. Puckering and coating. Very awkward. Again, probably a pop and pour, and on a pop and pour, this offers 85 points of enjoyment. I bet this would be amazingly better after a week open, or better yet, after 100 years. 2005 was a fantastic vintage in the Jura.

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• 1934 Jean Bourdy Château-Chalon 94 Points

  France, Jura, Château-Chalon

  Jean-Francois says 1934 is considered one of the greatest vintages of the the last two centuries. Very deep honey colored. Stick my nose in this wine, and, what... This smells like a mix of mussels and creme brulee, butter, and eggs (Oh, I guess you can simply smell all the ingredients of the creme brulee). It's like a mix of a decedent appetizer of foie gras and a dessert. Beautiful stuff! Smooth palate. Quite lush and amazingly unique. Such intensity. Creamy and wild. Intense on the lovely, deep finish. Lingers a long time. Lots of spice, and great depth. Really fantastic... just a very fine, gentleman of the wine. Enjoyed this bottle even better than the one last year.

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The photo before the big reveal...

• 1868 Jean Bourdy Marc de Jura 98 Points

  France, Jura, Côtes du Jura

  The Legend... as we were finishing up the 1934 Chateau-Chalon, Ed began talking about how they really wanted to pour something from the 1800s at this tasting, but as they began a conversation around that, Ed realized it would simply be cost prohibitive and he'd have to charge too much for the tasting. As he's saying this, he says, "but..." and pulls from behind the counter this bottle, and jaws, mine at least, hit the floor. I remember reading about this on several occasions. Those on cellartracker should view on this wine's page Jon Rimmerman, of Garagiste's, writeup bellow, which includes the words of several critics. This bottle was brought as a surprise to all, Ed the owner included. Jean-Francois hand carried this on the plane to be poured at the tasting... as a gift. What an absolute treasure, and dare I say, a once in a lifetime opportunity to try such a thing. No, it's not a wine, but it is perhaps the loveliest liquid concoction I've ever experienced. As this was the last drink of the night, my jet lag from my Europe arrival just hours previous was hitting me pretty hard by now, and even if I couldn't delineate every minutia of this, there's no doubt in my mind the glory of this drink.
  
  A Marc... a blend of all the grapes of the estate, fermented whole like grappa, and distilled. I forget where the alcohol content of these begins, but I believe he said it's well north of 60%. This was still probably above 50%, Jean Francois surmised. The color was a rich caramel, like an old scotch. My notes on the taste severely suffered, as this was an utterly mesmerizing experience. Wow, what intensity of aroma... amount and diversity of baking spices on the aroma was unheard of. There was TONS of herbal notes, particularly thyme, coupled with lots of Juniper... Incredible. On the palate, all I wrote was, "Holy shit... what intensity!" Again, similar flavors, particularly that tree, but the consistent, penetrating attack was unrelenting. It just evolved and evolved on the tongue, and always kept you guessing. The attack on the finish again is spellbinding. Insane length. I don't think I've ever smiled so widely at the finish of a beverage. I wish I could capture the complexity on the finish, the evolution of which I've never experienced in anything. This was hugely built up in my mind, yet somehow it even surpassed my expectations. This is nearly perfect in every way, and I literally couldn't have ever imagined having a spirit of this kind of depth, complexity, and evolution... and to think, this is 145 years old!! No one has ever lived that long in the history of the world, yet I'm drinking something a man created that many years ago. I'd surely expect something this old to have lost something, but this has likely only improved, and likely isn't going anywhere ever. The only thing keeping this from a 100 point experience was the slight burn of alcohol that is present on the finish. Again, it is over 50%, but I have had some single malt scotches of higher content without that burn (though no scotch of this level of complexity!). Again, a remarkable experience. For wishful future opportunities, I hope this isn't the oldest thing I ever enjoyably consume, but if it is, I am completely satisfied with this. What an experience!

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