Description
Domaine de Montbourgeau, Savagnin “Les Budes”
The anticipation for today’s offer is immeasurable. It’s a day of many “firsts” and it all culminates with a singular wine nobody will soon forget. Not only is it our first offering from the enchanting estate of Domaine de Montbourgeau—which Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutiérrez believes is a secret source for some of the Jura’s most elegant wines—it also happens to be a new micro-cuvée made in a pulse-quickening, never-before-attempted “Burgundian” style.
Additionally, we take pride in offering the world’s most classic regions and grapes, and yet this marks the very first time we’ve debuted a solo offering of Jura Savagnin, a grape and place so deeply interconnected, it might as well be equal to that of Burgundy and Chardonnay. Lastly, we’re among the lucky few to give this a proper red-carpet rollout: Fewer than 40 cases currently exist in the entire United States, and we have about a quarter of that available to offer all of you. Put simply, this absurd rarity is an indelible, hard-to-acquire treasure for sommeliers and wine adventurers of all levels. And although Domaine de Montbourgeau is a master of Jura’s traditional, “oxidized” style, that is not today’s wine: This unique white matured in old French barrels for two years and was frequently “topped off” to produce a deeply textured, wildly vibrant, profoundly mineral Savagnin of finesse. With such a small amount in existence, it’s a near-miracle that we can share these with you today. Up to six bottles per person.
About an hour’s drive east of Beaune, at the base of the French Alps and near the border of Switzerland, the Jura has developed a reputation as Burgundy’s “country cousin” with strikingly similar soils. The re-discovery, as it were, of the Jura’s many charms is emblematic of our renewed appreciation for hands-on, small-scale, ‘farmstead’ winemaking. The Jura is not a ‘wine lake’ overrun with big corporate players working at scale; it’s a place where vignerons are more like gardeners, working tiny plots with horse-drawn plows and living right above their cellars. The Jura puts the “country” in wine country, which also means that most wines are produced in minuscule quantities.
Within the region, a couple of smaller appellations are sprinkled about, like L’Etoile, which is home to just 70-something hectares of gnarled vines that are buried in stellate fossils that look like a forbidden terroir snack mix. Only white wine is permitted in this appellation, and it must consist of Chardonnay or Savagnin. For many wine enthusiasts, including us, Domaine de Montbourgeau is L’Etoile’s supreme leader, as they’ve been custodians of their family-tended vines for over 100 years. Third-generation Nicole Deriaux has helmed the ship for the last 35, with her three sons “on deck,” absorbing what they can while awaiting their turn.
Montbourgeau only farms 1.7 hectares of Savagnin and most of that is designated for their soulful, brooding sous voile bottlings (not topped up; slightly oxidized) but in 2018, they decided to set aside a small parcel and try their hand—for the very first time in the winery’s history—in making a “clean,” high-toned, Burgundy-esque wine. After a manual harvest, the grapes were gently pressed and sent into used, 500-liter French barrels for fermentation and subsequent aging. The wine stayed in these barrels for two years, which is an extremely long time but brief in terms of their sous voile bottlings. The difference here was that instead of leaving the wine untouched, they continuously topped off each barrel with more wine to avoid excess oxygen, a style known as ouillé in Jura. Keep in mind, this is a near-universal practice everywhere else in the world, but not here!
The results are spectacular. The wine pours a vivid bright yellow in the glass and, after 15 minutes of air, releases gorgeously seductive aromas of yellow peach, quince, mashed yellow apple, bruised apricot, lees, white nectarine, hazelnut, lime peel, crushed shells, wet stone, and damp yellow flowers. The palate is poised, richly textured, and bursting with multi-dimensional savor that makes this wine one of a kind. It has some hallmarks of mature Meursault with a touch of powerful bruised fruit—but again, this is not an oxidized wine! The tension and lift boost each mineral-etched layer while carrying a plush and vivid yellow-fruit core into a long, savory finish. We recommend drinking this powerhouse with a luxurious dish, and storing your remaining bottles for consumption over the next decade. Cheers!
