Berthet-Bondet Cotes du Jura Savagnin Savagnier 2018
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Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Aromas of citrus and exotic fruits, lots of minerality on the palate.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Côtes du Jura Savagnier is 100% Savagnin aged exclusively in stainless steel to preserve the varietal character and present a floral and fresh white. It is very pleasant and has a dry palate that shows some minerality and is tasty and long, with good acidity for a year that was very warm and delivered ripe grapes.
Other Vintages
2014-
Parker
Robert
The classic wine of the Jura is the "vin de voile," a technique otherwise practiced only by Spanish sherry producers. During barrel aging, casks are only partially filled, or ouille, with wine. This provokes the formation of a film of yeast on the exposed portion, protecting the wine from oxidation and giving it a unique flavor of dried fruits and nuts. Also, the logic of the aging cellar is the opposite of that for classic wine-making. Like a sherry cave, these cellars are dry and well ventilated, with enormous variations in temperature. Interestingly enough, this region of France remained a Spanish possession until 1660.
Bondet uses indigenous yeasts, except for the Cremant. By precaution he prepares a "pied de cuve" to start the fermentations of the various cuves. This is made from a small quantity of grapes that ferments spontaneously. He verifies with the lab that these are the right yeasts before incorporating them into the cuves. Selected yeasts are used for the second fermentation of the cremant.
Farming practices: The domaine is certified organic. The wines are vegan (when fined, which is rare, it is with bentonite).
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.