Montbourgeau's Cremant de Jura, 92 Points and a Coupe de Coeur + l'Etoille Chardonnay. Jura Style Personified.

Seriously delicious bubbly at a great price.

CREMANT DE JURA BY DOMAINE DE MONTBOURGEAU NV

92 points – Decanter, June 2016
Coup de Coeur – Guide Hachette 2015

Bottle Price : $29.95

Case Price : $359.40

Winery : Domaine de Montbourgeau

Wine Region : France (France), Jura (France)

Bottle Per Case : 12 x 750 ml

Food Pairing : Breads, Cured Meat, Rich Fish, Soft Cheese, White Meat

This has pleasant rustic apple fruit balanced by cold-climate acidity, with hints of cashew and herbs – it would be hard to distinguish this from Champagne in a blind tasting (it’s even a bit chalky!) A seriously distinguished bubbly – at a house price.

For those that are not familiar with the Jura, or Jura wines, a little information. The Jura is a very mountainous region on the Swiss border of France. Some of the most powerful, and delicious white wines and bubbly produced anywhere, come from this quaint, but amazing, little wine region. This area was largely passed over by wine aficionados, mostly due to the lack of marketing prowess in the Jura, until the last couple of decades. These days, the wines from the Jura are in vogue and have become extremely popular. You will have a hard time finding a wine list in London, or New York City without at least 1 Jura wine on it.

The terroir in the Jura is mountainous and there is a lot of mineral in the soil. There is a long history of winemaking here, and if you find a producer like Montbourgeau, that are great winemakers, the results can be spectacular.

Here is a little information on the winery:

Domaine de Montbourgeau has produced traditional Jura wines since Victor Gros, the grandfather of current Vigneronne, Nicole Deriaux, first planted the estate’s vineyards in 1920. Nicole’s father, Jean Gros, was responsible for expanding the domaine once he acceded to the head of the family in 1956. Thirty years later (1986) Nicole joined her father and she now is fully responsible for the operation of the domaine. Her three sons are waiting in the wings!

The estate is located in the village of L’Etoile in the southwestern zone of the Jura. The origin of the name “L’Etoile” (meaning “star”) is attributed to either the fact that there are five hills surrounding the village in the pattern of a star or, more probably, because of the numerous specimens of the fossils of ancient starfish that are found to this day in the soils of this appellation. The appellation itself is very small, including only 52 hectares, principally in the village of L’Etoile but also with certain vineyards in the neighboring villages of Planoiseau, Saint Didier and Qunitigny.

These are some of the great wines of the world. The prices allow that most people can access them if they are interested. If you love serious white wine and bubbly, do yourself a favour, and grab a case or 2. I should also mention that the l’Etoille is age worthy and is only going to improve over the next decade or so.

Just so you know, the Chardonnay is made in the traditional Jura style and does not taste like your average Chardonnay. Personally, i love this style and get really excited when it becomes available. I guess this is the case for many of us as both the Cremant and the l’Etoille sold through very quickly last time the wines arrived.

If you are looking for a more traditional Chardonnay, we have featrued Chavy Chouet’s Bourgogne Blanc below.

Have a great Sunday!