Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The NV Crémant du Jura was produced with Chardonnay from vines planted in 2017 on Montmorain and in the 1980s on Galmard is from 2022, but the vintage is not mentioned anywhere on the bottle. They harvested early in 2022. It's a young, fresh and straightforward sparkling wine with lively bubbles and a fresh and lightish palate. It was in stainless steel for seven months before it was put to referment in bottle.
-
Vinous
The Brut Zéro Crémant du Jura comes as a multi-vintage blend, but this release predominantly features a 2020 base wine. After spending roughly seven months in stainless steel tanks, the Montbourgeau Crémants rest on their fine lees in bottle for up to 20 months. Linear and focused, this bone-dry Brut Zéro showcases toasty aromas intertwined with oyster shell and lemon peel. Anchored by a firm acidic backbone, this clear-cut Crémant finishes fresh and to the point.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
On the foothills of the Jura Mountains, just east of the Cote de Beaune on the Switzerland border, the Jura wine-producing zone is recognized for its unique reds, as well as its particular and diverse styles of whites.
Though borrowed from their neighbor Burgundy, Chardonnay and Pinot noir have been growing in Jura since the Middle Ages. But here the altitude, topography, climate and clay-rich, marl soils support a different style of Pinot noir, not to mention its other deeply-colored, full-bodied indigenous reds, Poulsard and Trousseau.
Considering area under vine, growers here favor Chardonnay for its consistency and reliability; it comprises almost half of Jura's vineyard acreage. However, Jura Chardonnay is anything but boring; its many offbeat styles are part of what make region’s wines so distinctive. It is used for Cremant (sparkling), Macvin (a fortified wine), as well as fine examples at the quality level of Burgundy.
Jura also has a unique oxidative style for Chardonnay but is better recognized for its similarly-styled “vin jaune,” meaning ‘yellow wine,’ which is made from the indigenous variety, Savagnin. Vin jaune is made using techniques similar to those used to make Sherry.
For all of its wines, Jura favors a traditional, natural and often organic style in viticulture and winemaking.