WTN: Tissot Poulsard 2005

"Vinifie par Stephane Tissot" 13% abv nominal.

Dark ruby color. Red plums and black pepper. Good acidity, although this vintage seems richer than the 2004. Rich enough to go well with burgers on the grill. Solid 88 points. Great wine at $20! I love black pepper.

Also drank the 2004 De Moor Sauvignon Blanc from Chablis. This bottle showed a little more oxidation, with a hint of caramel notes. I thought the caramel added some complexity, but I think I prefer the fresher bottle tasted at Terroir Wine Bar. Still some great minerality and lime flavors once you got past the caramel. At $15, I would still buy again. A very interesting white wine. 85 points/

although this vintage seems richer than the 2004.

I don't think it just 'seems' richer, I think it is richer

Either way, nice wine and nice price!

Also, the combination of lime, mineral, and caramel sounds bit disconcerting on the de Moor sauvignon blanc. Was that caramel evidence of oxidization and decline or did the folks at Terroir know if it had always showed that way from release?

My experience is limited to the two bottles, Rahsaan. The other bottle tasted at most two weeks ago at Terroir, was pure, with no oxidized notes at all. 2004 may be getting long in the tooth for a simple Sauvignon Blanc with no oak and no expectation of aging.

Storage on my bottle was decent, too...I didn't keep my bottle sitting on a hot counter in the sun

I think I just got an iffier bottle. Natural wines and all. It was disconcerting, but the minerality and lime-iness was still dominant enough I enjoyed the wine.
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I'm curious as to your opinion (and others) about Tissot wines. In my limited experience, I think I prefer Tissot to Puffeney. They just seem juicier and deeper. I have one bottle of 2004 Puffeney Poulsard left (probably should drink it soon!)

Have never found the other name producer (Huert or something remotely like that????)

I'm curious as to your opinion (and others) about Tissot wines. In my limited experience, I think I prefer Tissot to Puffeney. They just seem juicier and deeper

I don't have extensive experience but that sounds about right.

Maybe others can comment.

Brian,

Interesting, offbeat wines.

Was the Poulsard "appellation Jura contrôlée"?

You mention a 2004 De Moor Sauvignon Blanc from Chablis. Would that be a Sauvignon de Saint-Bris?

All the best,
Alex

You mention a 2004 De Moor Sauvignon Blanc from Chablis. Would that be a Sauvignon de Saint-Bris?

All the best,
Alex

Yes.

I'm curious as to your opinion (and others) about Tissot wines. In my limited experience, I think I prefer Tissot to Puffeney. They just seem juicier and deeper

I don't have extensive experience but that sounds about right.

Maybe others can comment.

Rahsaan - this is so odd, it's déjà vu, non? Did you get Brian's question from a previous post of his or am I going mad??? If I answered/commented before, forgive me, because I can't find the old post (or can I just not see it here?)!

Anyway Brian and Rahsaan, I guess I do have quite extensive experience of these two great Arbois producers (in my humble opinion no. 1 and no. 2 in Arbois, but depends on taste as to which order you put them in) and they do produce quite different wines, both reds and whites, but I'll just discuss reds for now.

Stéphane Tissot (Dom André et Mireille Tissot) uses super-ripe (sometimes almost over-ripe) fruit and experiments endlessly with different vinification methods (e.g. pigéage or not), sizes and types of oak barrels etc. For the region, he works with low yields and of course, farms biodynamically. I would say that he is looking to make a modern-style Jura red, whilst trying to maintain terroir characteristics and he looks to make reds with deeper colours than others and a richer, fuller mouth-feel. For the international palate, his reds are definitely more accessible than most.

Puffeney, on the other hand takes much more getting to know - him and his wines, but when you finally get to understand them, they have the most extraordinary minerality, more than any reds I've ever tasted. He is not organic/biodynamic but takes good care at every stage of his vineyard and winery management working traditionally in the best sense. He matures his wines in foudres (large oak barrels) and bottles only after about 18 months, sometimes longer. His reds look typically Jura pale, but the aromas are complex and there are always hidden depths that emerge as the bottle has been open for a while.

Another thing that must be taken into account with even the best Jura red producers is the quite dramatic vintage variation. 2005 was a really excellent year for reds giving good colour, fruit and structure - you can't get that every year - the Jura is a seriously difficult place to ripen red grapes in many years.

By the way

Was the Poulsard "appellation Jura contrôlée"?

No, it would have been 'appellation Arbois contrôlée' - but yes, that's Jura!

Rahsaan - this is so odd, it's déjà vu, non? Did you get Brian's question from a previous post of his or am I going mad??? If I answered/commented before, forgive me, because I can't find the old post (or can I just not see it here?)!!

I don't remember either, but thanks for the post and the mentions of personal experiences.

So Puffeney has no interest in working completely organically?

So Puffeney has no interest in working completely organically?

I've never directly asked him, but I would have surmised him to be like the majority of top-level wine producers, he probably does most things without use of chemicals, but there will be one thing (e.g. and not talking about Puffeney here ... under-vine herbicide or a fungicide chemical spray if really needed etc) that means he couldn't be classified as organic. I would say that in Europe certainly the reality is that there are very very few producers who are really interested in working completely organically - more's the pity, perhaps.

Brian,

Interesting, offbeat wines.

Was the Poulsard "appellation Jura contrôlée"?

You mention a 2004 De Moor Sauvignon Blanc from Chablis. Would that be a Sauvignon de Saint-Bris?

All the best,
Alex

Arbois controllee. (Hence...Je suis l'arboiphile, pas le juraphile ) I am lucky enough to live in a metropolitan area with quirky wine retailers who find this kind of stuff! Sadly, the St Bris is unavailable for the next two vintages, as a British retailer contracted for the entire small production. I also have a bottle of De Moor Aligote that I am eager to try.

Wink: Thanks for the contribution. I have a bottle of 2004 Puffeney that I am eager to try again tonight, and I might still have a bottle of M. Puffeney's Trousseau, also. Guillaume, at Terroir Wine Bar in San Francisco, was suggesting the 2004s might be getting a little long in the tooth...

Wink: I could Google this, but I trust your experience Isn't there a third well-known producer of Arbois reds? The name starts with an "H"? Where did I hear or read this name?

Isn't there a third well-known producer of Arbois reds? The name starts with an "H"? Where did I hear or read this name?

Emmanuel Houillon who now makes the wines for Maison Pierre Overnoy. Pierre was a giant in the region.

Guillaume, at Terroir Wine Bar in San Francisco, was suggesting the 2004s might be getting a little long in the tooth...

Hmmmm ... I doubt it very much - doesn't matter what styles they are, pretty much all Jura wines from good producers last a long, long time (2003 might be an exception because of the abnormal year/low acidity). Enjoy trying it.

Emmanuel Houillon who now makes the wines for Maison Pierre Overnoy. Pierre was a giant in the region.

Pierre Overnoy is still considered a giant - he's a lovely man. He's a pioneer of no-sulphur wines, but I still like him
They are a very small domaine based in Pupillin so this is the sub-appellation Arbois-Pupillin. The village is the self-styled "Capitale Mondiale de Ploussard" (World capital of Ploussard - which is how they spell Poulsard in this village) and there is more grown there than anywhere else, it's true.
Needless to say Overnoy/Houillon's best-known wine is their Ploussard and it can be extraordinary, but like all no-sulphur wines varies a lot. I had the privilege of trying the 1994 at Christophe Menozzi's restaurant in Besancon last month ... and here are some rough notes:
"Ancient nose, not reduced [this is a frequent issue with Poulsard] but from another age; palate is as hard as stone but with some fruit and the finish is long in a curious way, because a part of the mouth was so empty ... and a part so full" Was this a donut wine?? I ask myself now. How rude to the revered Overnoy that would be. Seriously it was a lovely match with magret de canard and I also wrote that as the wine opened up (the owner/sommelier opened it specially for us to taste a glass so it was just opened) the 'petit fruits rouge' (redcurrants, really) emerged.
Enough Arbois banter - I must get back to work.