Agreed that the Domaine du Pelican wines are quite good, but I wouldn’t say they are best examples of what a white Jura tastes like.
Unfortunately, what I consider exemplary white Jura are becoming harder and harder to find and more and more expensive. That said, I’d say Rousset-Martin/Saint Pierre/Marnes Blanches are very good and true to the regional style. I’d give their Chardonnays, Savagnins, and blends alike a shot. They’re getting harder to find these days, but they should be reasonably priced and available in most large US markets.
The domaine wines from Ganevat are quite expensive, but there are some Ganevat negoce whites that shouldn’t be too hard to find and are in the $60-$80 range. I find they’re quite good.
+1 on Pelican’s Savagnin Ouille as a good gateway into white Jura. It’s good not great so don’t expect angels to sing. I find very good white Jura to be generally less accessible when young and I think that’s Justin’s point - that Pelican’s user friendliness is atypical. There are some cheaper domaine Ganevats that might be a good entry point as well - Varrons, Pelerine, Marguerite (this one magnum-only). On the oxidative side you have Macle Chateau Chalon that’s quite readily available (even old vintages)
I would try anything available to you locally. I don’t think there is much that is bad coming into the US. One of the benefits of being into a nerdier region. Its a really fun region to explore for whites. There is some value out there. And given the differences between ouille and sous voille on top of chard, savagnin and blends you get variety not offered from other regions.
I would echo the comments about the Pelican ouille wines being a bit non-descript. But I also favor wines that have been under the veil.
Marnes Blanches is super quality and price, plus still easy to find.
Tissot seems like it’s taking a price jump along with Rousset-Martin, but still to be found at a reasonable price.
Tournelle is great.
I think the quality is high all over, and so many great names in this thread already.
im a ganevat head. for the money, savagnin montferrand from the negoce line is as good as the best of his domaine offerings. excellent wine…electric apples.
For classic high end oxidative wines try Macle. You can start with the Cotes du Jura and then move on to Vin Jaune if you like it. Overall I think it is a good idea to start with the wines that has “only” spend around four years ‘sous voile’ to get an idea of the style. They are more available and a lot cheaper.
Besides Macle, Marnes Blanches makes one called Empreinte thats pretty good.
Tissot makes his Savagnin ‘Sous voile’ (pre latest release just called Savagnin)
Rousset-Martin makes Balanoz which is at the lighter end of the spectrum and absolutely delicious.
Aviet makes Reserve du Caveau. Just had a stunning 2014!
My hidden gem has always been Domaine de La Pinte’s Cuvée d’Automne though. For me that is a perfect cheap intro to these wines. Blend of Savagnin and Chardonnay where the Savagnin was raised under veil (it is therefore a NV blend).
If you want to splash then Labet’s Vin de Voile (called Cuvee de Hasard in earlier verisons), or anything Ganevat(!).
Non-oxidative:
A lot of names has been mentioned here.
Les Dolomies is missing though. I like all whites from Les Dolomies, but prefer the Savagnin cuvees.
Had some amazing Arco.
Marnes Blanches has been mentioned a bit. It is one of my favourite domaines in its price range and something I buy 6+ bottles of every year. My favourites are the En Quatre Vis Chardonnay and Aux Bois Savagnin.
Bruno Bienaimé is something is just invested in for my cellar. Beautiful reductive wines. Might be hard to find though.
And yes Ganevat and Labet is awesome. Some of my favorite wines in this world.
I have relatively little to add to this list. And I have no idea how hard or easy these are to find, since I have no idea how things are outside Europe.
Haven’t had any oxidative Aviets, but they do make wonderful ouillé wines as well.
A few additional names to the oxidative list:
-Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura
-Chevassu-Fassenet Côtes du Jura
The aforementioned Berthet-Bondet Tradition is superb.
For ouillé wines:
-Julien Crinquand Le Jean sur la Côte
-Nicolas Jacob Les Chazaux
-La Bouchaude Sans Trêve Savagnin & Chardonnay
-Jean Rijckaert Savagnin Grand Élevage
The aforementioned Marnes Blanches is definitely one of the best names in this genre. I’ve found that the single-vineyard Pelican whites have been pretty promising, although they are both pretty pricey and seem to call for some additional aging.
When it comes to Ganevat, I think his domaine bottlings are some of the best ouillé wines one can find in Jura. Unfortunately they are getting so expensive that I’m not seeking them myself anymore. Fortunately one can still find their square-label négo wines at the prices the domaine bottlings used to sell - and while not at the level of the domaine bottlings, they are still nothing short of excellent!
I mean, we probably have it easy in europe.
Just checked both Kermit and Chambers, and only one spot had wines I’d buy, and thats even at double the price.
Funny Dandelion story. Good buddy of mine whose by no means a wine nerd like us but lived next to Dandelion for years and spent good coin there was always abused by their cognoscenti employees for his boorish taste. Found it funny as I also do the same to him.
