Jean Rijckaert Cotes du Jura Les Sarres Savagnin 2018
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Enthusiast
Wine
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Shiny gold color. Great complex aromatics, with a mix of fresh almond, green apple, white pepper and citrus. On the palate, there is great roundness with some light spicy notes and aromas of quince marmelade, citrus zest and white flowers. The great freshness of the finish gives the wine a spectacular length!
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a yeasty wine, with hints of oxidation as well as ripe yellow-fruit flavors. Acidity and zesty flavors give this wine a tangy, peppery character that deserves further aging.
Other Vintages
2010-
Spectator
Wine
The Maison Rijckaert was created in 1998 by Jean Rijckaert, a passionate Belgian established as wine producer in Burgundy since 1990. In addition to 4 hectares in South Burgundy, the Domaine RIJCKAERT cultivates 5,5 ha of vineyards in the JURA, where Jean fell in love with these outstanding terroirs! Thus, they have two cellars: one at Davayé (South Burgundy, near Macon), one at Les Planches, near Arbois in the Jura. The Maison RIJCKAERT also purchases fine grapes, which are vinificated with the same precision and care than its own vineyards. Jean met his alter ego, Florent Rouve, in 2013, to whom he has gradually passed down his activities and above all his great savoir-faire.
They share a same vision of winemaking: restricted yields, handpicked harvest, slow and moderate pressings, indigenous yeasts, long aging into barrels, and...some precious secrets! A careful and natural winemaking, which aims to express the typicality of the grape and to highlight the specificity of the terroir where it comes from.
An ancient and genetically valuable vine variety with origins in NE France, Savagnin is a parent to many modern varieties but is most associated today with the Jura. It is responsible for a few styles of wine, the idiosyncratic Vin Jaune, a wine matured in barrel under a film of flor yeast and the sweet, concentrated Vin de Paille. Savagnin also makes a charming sparkling or still wine and is often found in blends with Chardonnay. Somm Secret—While Savagnin is an off-spring of Pinot, Savagnin is a parent of Chenin Blanc, Grüner Veltiner, Sauvignon Blanc, Silvaner and Trousseau.
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.