Jura is the darling of the Wine Bar scene at the moment, it’s so out there that it’s cool. Wine lovers all around the world have done all the usual suspects and are looking for interesting, outside the square, conversation starting style wines that challenge the senses - Jura wine offers this in spades.
When you think writers of Burgundy, you think Andrew Jefford and the New France, Bordeaux with Clive Coates and the Wines of Bordeaux, with Jura you think of Wink Lorch. Admittedly there is a dearth of books on the region at the moment and Wink is somewhat of a trailblazer. Wink has done a great job in providing an insight of the region, its history, geography and the vineyards, wines and people that make it so unique.
Rare Wine Dinners were lucky enough to have Wink as a special guest to a Jura Wine dinner they hosted. 14 enthusiasts were able to chat with Wink and her partner over the course of the night and sample some great wines matched with some amazing food.
The event took place at Studio Neon, a ‘Guestaurant’. Where 3 chefs were allowed to let their imaginations run wild without the constraints of a normal restaurant, think 3 flatmates who all happen to be top notch chefs inviting you over to their place which just so happens to have a commercial grade kitchen it and you get the idea. They were free to find their own ingredients, try out new things and put a lot of work in matching what can be difficult wines. For the food to almost steal the show against the wine speaks volumes of how accomplished the dishes were.
I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting from Wink as a person, from her photos I had a strange Pam Ayres vibe for some reason. 
After chatting to her beforehand with some bubbly, we got to see what a warm and lovely person she was and how passionate she was about the Jura Region. She made everyone feel at ease and in no time was like an old friend you’d meet up for dinner and wines, albeit with an encyclopaedic knowledge of Jura.
The wines ranged from 2 year old Reds to 70+ year Vin Jaune and everything in between. Being Jura they taste reds before the whites. The juxtaposition of the reds to the whites is quite strange with the whites being the big hitters in both style and aging ability and the reds being quite light and floral and consumed slightly chilled.
The Final line-up of the wines and menu was as follows.
Frederic Lambert Crémant du Jura
Waygu Ox tongue cooked over binchotan white charcoal
Sourdough from wild cockatoo bakery Seaweed butter
Flight 12009 Hughes Béguet Ploussard Champ Fort
2009 Hughes Béguet Trousseau ‘So True’
Cured Kangaroo Pepper berry- wild herbs-smoked egg yolk
Flight 2
1999 Daniel Dugois La Grevillière
1995 Caves Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Rouge
“Charcoal beef”
Flight 3
2009 Les Dolomies En Rolion Savagnin
2010 Les Dolomies Les Combes Chardonnay
Sea urchin Tapioca Australian sea lettuce-sea foam-finger lime
Flight 4
2012 Frédéric Lambert Les Gryphée
1992 Daniel Dugois Chardonnay
63 Degree hens Egg, Savoury granola- chicken skin, sweet vinegar
Flight 5
2009 Frédéric Lambert Savagnin
1996 Benoit Badoz Vin Jaune
“Fish of yesterday” This fish dish is prepared from fish caught yesterday and vegetable collected from the markets this morning
Flight 6
1975 Chateau Chalon, Henri Maire Vin Jaune
1942 Georges Meurgey Vin Jaune, Chateau Chalon
18 month aged Comté Celery-walnut-caraway- grapes
Flight 7
2011 Hughes Béguet Straw Berry
New season fig 90% cacao- blue cheese- molasses
1947 Jean Bourdy Marc de Jura
Black olives
Tasting Notes
Frederic Lambert Crémant du Jura
Probably could have done with a bit more chilling. Lemon with very light aromatics, nice tangy acidity in balance with a creamy mouthfeel.
2009 Hughes Béguet Ploussard Champ Fort
Rhubarb on the nose, with a hint of stems, cherry, rose water and Turkish Delight. There was also a hint of reductiveness which subsided after airing. Wink mentioned that the wine was a lot darker than normal. Medium tannins and metallic notes coming through and some tomato leaf at the end. This is a nice simple wine without too many pretensions and would make a great casual wine for someone looking for something different to the normal Aussie Red.
2009 Hughes Béguet Trousseau ‘So True’
Immediately noticeable is a more refined nose and palate, more regal for want of a better word. Nettles, tomato leaf, violets, a very light style. Tart while maintaining a good balance with the fruit, the acidity is quite refreshing and would benefit with a bit of chill. I could drink this stuff like a lager, sessional and a lot of fun.
1999 Daniel Dugois La Grevillière Trousseau
Red fruits, dark cherry, again a very straightforward wine which I don’t use in a bad way, it’s a wine that doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. Has a lovely balance, albeit not overly tannic more wiry than muscular. Even with 16 years on it, it seemed eminently youthful and showed how wonderfully it ages, with the age giving it a bit more complexity and the beginnings of some secondary characteristics and some earthiness coming through.
1995 Caves Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Rouge
Strawberry sweetness, sesame oil, with a real sense of purity. Dusty tannins providing a good grip with acidity and fruit integrating nicely. On the back of the palate it exited with a real tartness and freshness. Some sous bois and funk providing lots of interest and a real meatiness to the overall feel of the wine.
2009 Les Dolomies En Rolion Savagnin
Spicy and vibrant with a hint of oxidative caramel that is such a feature of Jura wines. Very light style of wine with some oaky and butter notes lending to a creamy softness on the palate. A lick of acid provides the balance and keeps it all in check.
2010 Les Dolomies Les Combes Chardonnay
Very lean and mineral nose, lemon sherbet, grapefruit prominent, lots of air to it in that it’s almost like an ethereal mist of smells above the glass. Very intense on the palate – taut and racy with some oak. The tartness carries through the nice length, this would be fantastic with a creamy dish and indeed it was with the sea urchin tapioca.
2012 Frédéric Lambert Les Gryphée
Green apple cider, very oxidative, with a real purity and hint of residual sweetness as a foil to the tart characteristics. The 12months this spends on lees gives it a rich creamy feel. The length on this was amazing, it just didn’t want to go away evolving to a nice nuttiness as you work it around your mouth.
1992 Daniel Dugois Chardonnay
A nice sweet and oxidative nose, burnt lemon and coconut with a hint of heat. Very smooth almost bourbon like (strange but true). Seaweed and iodine came to the fore as it sat in the glass, an amazingly youthful for a 20+ year old wine. Very persistent moving to a sweeter feel on the back palate. The complexity of this wine was almost like 4 seasons in one day a veritable cornucopia of styles.
2009 Frédéric Lambert Savagnin
Showing a more restrained oxidative nose with some acetic aromas. Nutty with caramel notes - quite sweet yet acidic on tongue (very strange sensation), very good length, it leaves your whole mouth buzzing with the acidity.
1996 Benoit Badoz Vin Jaune
First of the Vin Jaunes and it’s a style if you are not used to, comes at quite a shock to the senses. Very earthy, sherried notes, and lots of spice, very aggressive in the mouth, almost salty. Crushed nuts and almond paste. Oxidative characteristics and iodine coming through with more air.
1975 Chateau Chalon, Henri Maire Vin Jaune
A real richness to the oxidative nose with a dash of orange marmalade. Lots of nuts of various flavours. Very full on palate with a huge length that went on forever. This wine just personifies why Jura is so wrong, yet so right, it’s a wine that is hard to pigeonhole as it just doesn’t conform to anything you know about wine. Yet it ticks all the boxes of complexity, balance, length, interest and drinkability. Brilliant wine.
1942 Georges Meurgey Vin Jaune, Chateau Chalon
Grassy-ness/seaweed, sesame, sweet soy/teriyaki notes, salty and nutty, heaps going on. It is still quite tannic with oodles of acid which in a 70+ year old wine is amazing. Lovely length an almost ethereal nature about it, it just seemed to hover in your mouth and finished with a lovely salted caramel aftertaste. Wow, a real treat to be able to drink this and a wonderful example of how well Vin Jaune can age.
2011 Hughes Béguet Straw Berry
Very rich almost fortified nose, rhubarb, strawberry shortcake (not sure if some cognitive suggestion happening from the name of it as it has nothing to do with Strawberries being a vin de paille, or straw wine, anyway I digress). Thicker and more unctuous, red cordial, a really nice sweetness to it and very mellow.
1947 Jean Bourdy Marc de Jura
This was kindly donated by one of the attendees, this is a spirit at around 50+% alc. An eaux de vies that is renowned for its ability to last forever. Even as a cask strength Single Malt Whisky fan this singed all the hairs in my nose. I could smell it across the table as they were brought out. It put me in the mind of a Highland Whisky with heather, sultanas and hints of iodine. A very unique style. I would have liked to try a few drops of water in it like I do for some cask strengths if I find them too overwhelming.
Waygu Ox tongue cooked over binchotan white charcoal
The Ox tongue was unbelievably tender, I was a bit hesitant after being scarred by the ‘Becasse’ experience. The smoky charcoal offset it wonderfully.
Sourdough from wild cockatoo bakery Seaweed butter
Seriously good, seaweed butter = brilliant
Cured Kangaroo Pepper berry- wild herbs-smoked egg yolk
Very Moorish, it came on a small lavash like cracker which held it all and really went well together.
“charcoal beef”
the ‘charcoal’ was from black garlic, onion and sesame, and was sous vide.
Sea urchin Tapioca Australian sea lettuce-sea foam-finger lime
This was amazing, rich and creamy with heaps of different flavours, textures happening. Brilliant match with the wine.
63 Degree hens Egg Savoury granola- chicken skin- sweet vinegar
Very fun dish, once you’d broken up the poached egg and mixed it all in with the granola it was almost Bircher Muesli like.
“Fish of yesterday” This fish dish is prepared from fish caught yesterday and vegetable collected from the markets this morning
So fresh and milky like soft flesh, matched really well with the vegetables. Unusual fish as well.
18 month aged Comté Celery-walnut-caraway- grapes
Was a bit left of field, a sort of grated cheese plate with some celery mixed in to provide a counterpoint to the wine. Very nicely done or worked well.
New season fig 90% cacao- blue cheese- molasses
Nice tart figs went well with the super rich ice-cream.
Black olives
These were actually dark chocolates shaped to look like olives, embedded on toothpicks to complete the illusion.
Studio Neon and some people pics
Wink with Greg and Shannon from Rare Wine Dinners and the bottles
Do yourself a favour and grab a copy of the book, great read Jura Wine book | Jura Wine, Food and Travel
