2022 Tissot Arbois Savagnin Ouille

The Jura lies 100 kilometers east of Burgundy, in eastern France near the border with Switzerland. It’s a land of lovely hills, fine food, and outstanding and distinctive wines. The grape varieties span the familiar (chardonnay and pinot noir, brought from Burgundy in the Middle Ages) and the distinctively local (savagnin for white; trousseau and poulsard for reds). Arbois is a geographic subzone within the Jura and the largest wine-producing part of it.

Jura is most famous - or notorious, depending on your predilections - for Vin Jaune, the “yellow wine” made by aging white wine for at least six years in small barrels without topping them up to compensate for evaporation. Vin Jaune and similar untopped-up wines are said to be made sous voile, or “under a veil” of yeast that forms on the surface of the wine and enables a controlled oxidation. This is the same technique used to make some Sherries in Jerez, where the voile is called flor. This wine is not that; rather it is ouillé, or topped up, as is done with most white wines that are aged in barrels. Both chardonnay and the more local savagnin (as well as blends of the two varieties) can be made sous voile or ouillé; the producer decides on a preferred style for each wine, and most producers make both styles.

On to this producer: André and Mireille Tissot started their family domaine in 1962. Their son Stéphane’s first vintage was 1989, at the tender age of 19. He was joined by his wife, Bénédicte, and they converted the vineyards to organic and then biodynamic farming. Since then, the Tissots have established their domaine at the pinnacle of the region. Stéphane is a relentless experimenter and makes perhaps three dozen different wines; we are fortunate to get a tiny amount of some of them each year.

Their Arbois Savagnin Ouillé aged for two years in demi-muid (600-liter) barrels, which of course were topped up. The wine was bottled without fining, filtration, or added sulfur. In the glass, the color is a pale (straw into?!) gold. The nose is spicy and faintly nutty. The mouth is savory, smoky, and textured. This is a powerful wine with complexity, generosity, and an appealingly wild side. Open and pour it into a large glass; no decanting is necessary. Food pairing ideas include rich shellfish (scallops, oysters, lobster), roast chicken with morel mushrooms, and young Comté cheese.