We started with two Crémants from Stéphane & Bénédicte Tissot. The difference between the two may be its cuvée. The Indigène says 75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay on the back label, the back label of the Extra Brut states no info. The Info from the Tissot website (55% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, 5% Trousseau, 5% Poulsard) may be right according to Wink, but doesn't have to be right. The main difference between the two Crémants we had is that one (the Extra Brut) undergoes its second fermentation in bottle with cultured yeasts while the other (Indigène) undergoes its second fermentation with indigenous yeasts from a strang of yeast that Stéphane Tissot takes from its Vin de Paille which is always the last to start and stop fermenting.

One bottle of the Indigène was corked, but fortunately we had two bottles. I slightly preferred the Extra Brut as I found it rounder and more expressive, the Indigène was quite austere. In our group, the opinions were divided, some liked the Indigène better as it was more reminiscent of Champagne, others liked the Extra Brut better because it was rounder. In any case, this was a good start.

In the next flight, we had a Poulsard from Puffeney and a red cuvée from Domaine Pignier made from old grape varietals. The Puffeney is a classic Poulsard for me with not much tannin, quite strong acidity and an aromatic profile around red currants and floral notes. I didn't like it that much this January at the domaine, but loved it now. The Pignier was not deep or complex, but just fun to drink. Both wines went quite well with the beef Saté and the very spicy Papaya-Glass-Noodle salad.

Next up we had Kit Hu's great beef tartare which is mildly Chinese-influenced (secret recipe though) and two Trousseaus with it, an old one and a young one, but both from very old school and traditionall producers. Camille Loye's last vitnage was 1990 and according to Wink, Camille Loye considers his 1989 Trousseau St. Paul still too young. Personally, I found it already quite advanced in the nose, yet very fresh in the mouth. I truly adored the Lucien Aviet Trousseau that was super fresh, very clear in its aromatics, wonderfully balanced, light, but with depth and complexity. Both wines went well with the Tartare.

In the next flight we had two non-oxidative Savagnins, a young one and an aged one, paired with a lovely white asparagus, coconut cream soup with herbs and Tirol Speck. When opening the Rijkaert, I was not sure whether the wine would still be good as it is closed with a plastic cork. The wine was in splendid form though, just very slightly oxidative, but that should rather be due to its elevage than the plastic cork as the wine was everything but tired in the mouth. This wine was extreme, but I loved it. The Buronfosse was much lighter, built on acidity, not too complex, but nice to drink. Here we had the best marriage of food and wine of the evening, the Rijkaert with the asparagus soup. That was a match in heaven.

Here we had two non-oxidative Chardonnays from the same vineyard (En Chalasse in Rotalier), again a young one and an aged one. They were paired with a very spicy tripe ragout, which was delicous and did not pair perfectly with the Chardonnays, it was alright though. The Labet is from 65, 55 and 30 year old vines (selection massale), the Ganevat is from over 100 year old vines. I was slightly disappointed by the Ganevat even though it was pretty good. I had had an outwordly bottle before though, so my expectations and hopes were high. That night, it was quite oaky. Wink said that Ganevat's barrels are getting older and older as he doesn't buy many new barrels anymore and in 2005 he still had mostly young barrels. My favorite of the two was actually the Labet of which my stocks have been dwindling at a frightening pace.

Now, it was time to go over to the oxidative wines and Wink and I had composed a first flight that was meant to lead the way to the Jaunes. We had one 100% Chardonnay and one 100% Savagnin, unfortunately no "Tradition" blend of Chardonnay and Savagnin. When tasting at the domaine in January, the Cuvée du Hasard by Labet appeared only mildly oxidative, now it had stronger oxidative notes that seemed a bit rustic at first, but became finer with air and gave way to the rest of the aromatics. In this flight I preferred the Didier Grappe Savagnin, an incredibly fine wine, very Savagnin in its aromatics, with fine acidity and a great drinking flow. Especially with the plaice and the green asparagus, it went incredibly well. I'm becoming more and more of a fan of pairing Savagnin with Asparagus.

Next, we started drinking Jaunes, first two different vintages of Domaine Macle Château Chalon - 1995 and 2004. I was never so sure how long to best age my Vin Jaunes, but now I now that they need at least a decade since release to fully release their finesse potential. The 2004 was already quite good and complex, but the 1995 was so much more fine and sublime than the 2004. For me, the 1995 was a personal highlight this year, just plain marvellous, very sublime and heavenly. It went especially well with the steamed chicken in a cream sauce with mushrooms and red rice.

After the Macles, it was hard to impossible to find a Vin Jaune that could pick up the quality level that we had already reached. The 1985 Château d'Arlay Vin Jaune from a period when Château d'Arlay was still among the better producers in the Jura could not quite hold the level of the 1995 Macle, but for me it was magic as well. I had opened two clavelins and since the cork of one was crumbly and partly fell into the bottle, I decanted it through a sieve and we let it sit for four hours. The differences between the decanted wine and the slow-oxed wine were actually not huge, I maybe preferred the decanted one a tiny bit. In any case, this is a marvellous wine which is carried by orange aromas and is very spicy and earthy. I have one bottle left and will wait for a good occasion to drink it. Wink had brought some Comté from France and while I've had better combinations of Comté and Vin Jaune, the combination again did not disappoint that night.

To finish the night, we had a lovely white chocolate parfait with amarettini and two different dessert wines to go with it: a Macvin, this time in an unusual 100% Pinot Noir version, and a Vin de Paille. Domaine Désiré Petit from Pupillin, while not at the peak of the Jura in terms of quality overall, is one of the best producers for Vin de Paille. I loved this when I visited the Domaine a year ago and it was great again that night. It went incredibly well with the parfait. That can't be said about the Macvin which was simply too strong and red fruited for the parfait. It is one of the better Macvins I have had though.