2020 Tissot (Bénédicte et Stéphane / André et Mireille) Chardonnay Rose Massale
Don’t let the title fool you … this is a white wine made in the Jura from a rare mutation of the Chardonnay grape that leaves the berries pink tinted.
I have always been a bit of a skeptic about Jura white wines, wary of the oxidative winemaking.
But this was flat out fantastic. Really dry and full. Unique flavor profile with some cidery notes but also a big kiss of lemon and saline. Really grabs your palate with a long wash of acidity on a persistent finish. Totally different take on the “boring” Chardonnay grape.
The wine will appeal to those who like Pepe’s Italian whites. Savory, brass colored and a bit oxidative. Knockout pairing with chile verde pork dish.
It pays off to veer out of your comfort zone once in a while!
this particular cuvee is awesome. i think it is far more interesting than most of the over hyped cult jura producers like miroirs et al. i did not find it to be particularly oxidative when young but like lassek i have had quite a bit of variation with tissot especially after some years in bottle. some how i have had better luck aging the reds from this estate.
It’s been a million years but the Tissot En Barbaron Chardonnay was always a fantastic bottle of wine. And now I’m wondering why I haven’t bought one in so long.
The Chardonnays were all over the place. Ranging from very developed on its last legs (Graviers) to almost no development feeling like it was just released (Bruyeres), and then one in between (Mailloche).
The Traminer (called Savagnin Ouillé from the 2020 vintage) was and is my favourite cuvée though.
I’m not sure if Tissots are happy hearing their wine that is only a few years old is already being described as “a bit oxidative”.
There shouldn’t be anything “oxidative” in the wine - unless you normally describe wines like normal white Burgundies as a bit oxidative, too. Or if the wine was slightly premoxed. Tissot’s whites normally aren’t made in an oxidative fashion.
I haven’t tasted all new vintages as I like them best after a few years. But I had the 2018 which is maybe on the edge but manages to stay on the right side.
Somehow quite a few winemakers in Jura handles high abv in whites well. Not uncommon that Ganevat or Labet has high abv but still manages to create fresh balanced wines.
Next to the ones already mentioned: Puffeney (defunct), Berthet-Bondet, Jacques Tissot, Francois Rousset-Martin (sort of semi-oxidative), Château d’Arlay, Rolet or Philippe Butin. That being said, most producers’ portfolios have increasingly moved away from non-ouillé to ouillé over the years.
Otto … I’m a relative neophyte when it comes to the wines of the Jura. I didn’t mean to imply that the wine had been deliberately exposed to oxygen during its making. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t … I didn’t know before tasting the wine.
I was just referring to just a hint of oxidative notes – cider, umami, brassy color – that I normally associate with wines I enjoy … Krug, Pepe et al.
So if that quality didn’t come from the vinification practices, perhaps it’s the terroir or the oddball grape mutation or whatever.
In the end, it doesn’t matter. I just really dug the wine that was in my glass!
Just to be clear, there was nothing advanced at all about the wine.
