2009 Domaine de l’Octavin “Dora Bella” Poulsard “La Mailloche” Arbois JuraFrance

2009 Domaine de l’Octavin “Dora Bella” Poulsard “La Mailloche” Arbois Jura France  

A family-run estate owned by Alice Bouvot and Charles Dagand, Domaine de l’Octavin is located in Arbois, a commune in the Jura department in Franche-Comté in eastern France, about 50 kilometers southwest of Besançon and about 80 kilometers southeast of Dijon, nestled in the northeastern hills of the Jura Massif.

After graduating as a viticole engineer in Bordeaux and studying in Dijon to become oenologist, Alice Bouvot decided to go abroad to observe the types of wine that is produced there: California first, with renowned winemaker Aaron Pott in 2000, New Zealand and again in California at Pine Ridge in 2001; Vina Errazuriz in Chile in 2002 and then six months in California.

Despite the accumulated wealth of all these encounters and experiences during these three years, Alice returned to France with the certainty that her life will be held in the Jura, this tiny vineyard that does not exceed one percent of French vineyards. After a position of vineyard manager in the “Côte du Jura”, she decided to settle in Arbois with her cellar master, Charles Dagand.

Charles Dagand learned and did his classes in Burgundy. After studying as a technician in oenology and viticulture, it worked with Mr. Galmard, as the technical director of the local cooperative “Fruitière Vinicole d'Arbois – Chateau Bethanie”. Alice enticed him in her adventure in 2004. A year later, they decide to create their own domain: OPUS VINUM, which will become the “Domaine de L’Octavin” in 2008.

Chronologically, here is the historic of the Domaine:

• Created in 2005, Alice and Charles started to rent some vines in the spring and bought a winemaker’s home in the fall, where they vinified 50 hl.  

• Purchase of vines in 2006: 3.20 ha in the finest Terroirs d'Arbois:  
• lieu dit "Les Corvées" 
• lieu dit "Les Nouvelles" 
• lieu dit "En Poussot"   

• Cultivating 1 hectares of vines with organic methods in a place called "La Mailloche." 

• Cultivating o.6 hectare of vines in a place called "In Curon" very good subsoil for red varieties.  

• 2007 vintage: conversion of all the vineyards certified organic by Ecocert.  

• 2008 vintage: practice of Biodynamic methods: spray dung horn and silica to rectify the equilibrium of the soil and the plants, as well as use of infusion of plants such as nettle, willow, yarrow, the horsetail, dandelion (to strengthen the defenses of the plant immunity and consequently reduce the dose of copper used).  

• Spring 2008: planting 0.60 hectare of Savagnin  

• 2009 harvest: no added crap / / 100% sulfur-free wines – the biodynamic process is fully in place and contributes to the complexity of all the produced wines.   

The Domaine now encompasses 4,90 hectares of vineyards, all Organic and most under reconversion in Biodynamic culture.

The vineyards are planted with local grape variety:

• 45 % of red grapes: Trousseau 20% (reconversion), Pinot noir 13% (reconversion), Ploussard 12% (Organic). 


• 55 % of white grapes: Chardonnay 11% (reconversion), Chardonnay (organic) 11%, Savagnin, 33% (AB and reconversion). 

Continuing their work in the vineyard with assiduity and dedication, favoring organic and biodynamic agriculture, they wish to present wines that are the most characteristic to their Terroir of origin (quality of the soil, exposure, micro-climate, etc…) without the addition of any artifices, no sulfur, no yeast, no enzymes, etc… Just great healthy wines reflecting the passion of the producers and their utmost respect for the environment.

It's more a philosophy and a lifestyle that they choose here; again, the only truth is the emotion that their wine conveys in the glass. Although quite small they still mange to produce a wide array of wines that I invite you to discover on the winery website at http://www.opusvinum.fr/

Also, to understand the naming of the various labels, you have to know that they are huge fans of classical Music and Arts. Keep an eye on this up-and-coming estate that produce some of the best examples that Jura as to offer, even without having the notoriety of people like Tissot that are a classic standard of the appellation and make stunning wines.


Here is the old label, or at least the label distributed in Europe for the older vintage:

And here is the new, revamped and in my opinion friendlier label:

2009 Domaine de l’Octavin “Dora Bella” Poulsard “La Mailloche” Arbois, France 
Suggested retail price $22-$25 
Imported / distributor by Savio Soares

Made from 100% very old Poulsard vines (about 50 years old) with no sulfur added, the 2009 Domaine de l’Octavin “Dora Bella” is a beautifully crafted wine, fresh, juicy and fruity, that I highly recommend you to discover. Already intriguing in the glass, adorning a light to medium bright ruby red color with purple hue, the nose is fresh, fragrant and mineral, with fresh red berries aromas mingled with balsamic hints and meaty character. The palate is generous, textured and ample, yet fresh, enhanced by delineated acidity and framed by delicate integrated tannins. In the finish, the red fruit flavors evolve nicely with earthy, mineral, spicy and peppery notes. What a lovely wine!


Decidedly, I can not hide the fact that I’m in love with all mountainous and hilly wines, and overall all wines displaying great minerality and crisp acidity, whatever the color and whether they come from Jura, Savoie, Bugey, Vallée d’Aoste, Piedmont, Loire Valley, Burgundy, Alto Adige, Campania, Rioja, Galicia, and a few more regions in Europe more particularly, I love them all. What more pleasurable than a fresh, juicy and mineral wine that will wake up your taste buds, flirt with your palate with attractive and delicate features that will immediately call for another glass, compared to a huge Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel or even certain Pinot Noir boasting more than 14.5% of alcohol and taste way overripe and hugely too oaky? In my opinion, not much, wine-wise of course…  

Enjoy,

LeDom du Vin

Info partly taken and edited and translated from the winery website at http://www.opusvinum.fr

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic, Biologique and Organic wines and spirits and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe! Also follow projects and products from the Fair Trade, an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Also support 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide. "Commerce Equitable" or "Fair Trade" is evidently and more than ever a needed movement connecting producers and customers, to be aware of others and their cultural and traditional products based on high quality, natural components and craftsmanship.

Tasting Session with Langdon Shiverick Portfolio

Yesterday was a sad day for me, because I lost my grandfather on my father side. Although, something needs to be said, he just turned 100 years old last December. Yet, he had a pretty good run all these years and lasted in pretty good health until the end. I think that's beautiful. Quite incredible in fact, considering all the things that he has been through and more especially the overall evolution of mankind since 1910. What a Journey! It must have been mesmerizing. Rest in Peace Papa André. You've been loved and we'll miss you.

Which makes me think that life should be plentiful and joyful, lived with respect, emotion and passion, but with no remorse, no regret or rancor, especially when you see what is happening in the world these days. Therefore, aside of writing an entire post about a winery or a wine or a region, I will from now on also write some of my Tasting Sessions with certain suppliers. It will be easier for me to talk and share with you about more wines, without necessarily developing so much about the winery, producer, etc...

Most of my Tasting Sessions notes are usually short and straight to the point as they reflect my initial thoughts and impressions about the tasted wines, and are not put into complete sentences (like my regular posts), as it is usually impossible during the tasting itself to write in sentences. Reading this Tasting Session will be like if you were in my head, with me, during the tasting.

Also, like for my usual posts, I will only write about the wines that I loved during the tasting. No point to talk about the others, as the point of my blog is not to criticize or point finger, but to convey a positive message and relay the work of the producers and, with the longer posts, give you informative details about the wines, wineries and their Terroir of Origin (location, geography, history, climate, soil, exposure, grape varieties, etc..).

It has been a long time since I've tasted the wines from Langdon Shiverick, but my rep. (Rachel) came the other day with 7 wines and I was pleasantly surprised by 3 of them. One of them was Rijckaert, one of the classic Jura wineries, and I was glad to taste it again.


Here are the wines:

2009 Domaine Rijckaert Chardonnay Jura France
Suggested retail price $18-$21
Imported / distributed by Langdon Shiverick in NYC

Clean, bright, crispy on the nose. Bright minerality, excellent texture, Chablis-like mouth-feel, crispy, very focus and refreshing. I love it as always. Very well crafted. Lovely, long, cleansing and mineral, citrusy finish. Tart in a good way.

2008 Alex Mathur "Dionys" Montlouis Blanc Demi-sec Loire Valley France
Suggested retail price $22-$25
 Imported / distributed by Langdon Shiverick in NYC

Lovely nose, floral, mineral, white fruit, blossom. Excellent texture and length, captivating acidity. Beautifully crafted. Citrusy, yellow fruit, peach on the finish. Love it.

2008 Les Chais du Vieux Bourg Poulsard Cotes du Jura Red France

Suggested retail price $33-$36

Imported / distributed by Langdon Shiverick in NYC

Very intriguing color somewhere between orange and garnet. Ham Iberico, dark aged prune, fig, nut, very complex and enticing nose. Earthy, bright, crisp, lovely, delicate texture, with cranberry and red cherry flavors intermingled with more Iberico ham and nutty hints. Different. A bit light. Esoteric, somewhat unusual, not your everyday stuff. Love it. Love Jura wines.

Enjoy,

LeDom du Vin



Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic, Biologique and Organic wines and spirits and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe! Also follow projects and products from the Fair Trade, an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Also support 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide. "Commerce Equitable" or "Fair Trade" is evidently and more than ever a needed movement connecting producers and customers, to be aware of others and their cultural and traditional products based on high quality, natural components and craftsmanship.

Bugey & NV Renardat-Fache Vin du Bugey Cerdon Méthode Ancestrale France

Bugey & NV Renardat-Fache Vin du Bugey Cerdon Méthode Ancestrale France

After my previous post on Banyuls to welcome Spring season and in the mean time Easter, here is a post about a rather underrated sparkling wine from the eastern part of France, which will surely enhance your chocolate delights for Pâques.

The wine in question is a slightly sweet sparkling rosé from Cerdon, a small village located in a remote mountainous area in the eastern part of France, near the Swiss border, in the département of “Ain”.

Cerdon is one of the villages that constitute the appellation of Bugey, a fairly unknown wine region nestled in the foothills of the French alps, near Savoie, about 90 kms northeast-east of Lyon and about 80 kms southwest of Geneva.

A high proportion of Bugey wines are white, but white, rosé, red and sparkling wines are all produced in Bugey. The aromatic white variety Altesse, locally called Roussette, produces some of the more noted wines from the area.

Bugey produces various wines under the 2 major VDQS appellations: Roussette du Bugey and Vin du Bugey (VDQS: Vin Délimité de Qualité Superieure), which is itself divided in 3 Crus and other sub-appellations (also VDQS) producing different type of wines, mentioning on the label: “Vin du Bugey” followed by the name of the Cru or/and a specific grape variety and/or the type of wine (Mousseux, Pétillant).

Here is a short list of the most established:

• Bugey VDQS: white, rosé and red
  

• Roussette du Bugey VDQS: exclusively made with Roussette

• Vin du Bugey Montagnieu VDQS: specializes in Roussette-based sparkling and still white wines with a small production of red.
  

• Vin du Bugey Manicle VDQS: the birthplace of Brillat-Savarin, mainly produces Chardonnay and Jacquère based wines and a small production of red.
  

• Vin du Bugey Cerdon VDQS: specializes exclusively in semi-sweet sparkling rosé made from Gamay and Poulsard.
  

Rarely mentioned by the press and difficult to find or pinpoint on a map, this recluse and rustic, yet quaint but low-key area has still succeeded to make a name for itself over the last decade, due to the quality of its wines. Consequently, in May 2009, Vin du Bugey (or Bugey) and Roussette du Bugey received the final approval from the INAO (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine or French National Institute for the AOC), to be elevated from VDQS to AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controllée) status. A distinction that should increases the already consistent quality of the wines and should bring more attention and light to this charming area.

Despite their new status, the vineyards are still hard to find and consists of about 500 hectares spread out over 67 villages in the “Ain” département, in small patches of vines planted on steep, mostly south facing slopes, scattered between cattle grazing and small farms. It is in this undiscovered region that one of the oldest sparkling French winemaking techniques is still practiced, to produce one of the flagships of the Bugey appellation: “Bugey- Cerdon Méthode Ancestrale”.

The “Méthode Ancestrale” is rarely used in France nowadays, yet, in 1962, it was approved to be the only method used to produce “Vin du Bugey – Cerdon”. Bugey – Cerdon must be crafted from 100% Gamay or a blend of mostly Gamay with an addition of Poulsard, and sometime a touch of Chardonnay (depending on the producer).

The method results in a lightly sparkling, medium sweet wine. It involves bottling partially fermented young wines, usually in champagne shaped bottles, before all the residual sugar has been fermented into alcohol. Therefore, the fermentation continues in the bottle and gives off carbon dioxide, which explains the presence of bubbles. The wine is designed to be sweeter and less fizzy than a champagne method sparkling wine and no dosage is allowed.

Served cold or slightly cool, Bugey – Cerdon is a refreshing and fun bubbly to be consumed within the first 1 year after bottling (almost like a sparkling Beaujolais Nouveau, but much better). Its delightful berry flavors make it the perfect apéritif! It is also highly recommended to serve it with red fruit-based and chocolate desserts.




NV Renardat-Fache Vin du Bugey Cerdon Méthode Ancestrale France
Suggested retail price $18-$21
Imported by Louis/Dressner and Distributed by Polaner in NYC

Alain Renardat is a respected vigneron in Cerdon. The Domaine is located in Merignat, a small village, 4 kms southwest of Cerdon, part of the Bugey-Cerdon appellation. Alain and his son Elie make their Cerdon from Gamay and Poulsard, and follow the "Méthode Ancestrale" (which differ totally from the widely used Méthode Champenoise, or else plain carbonation, the preferred method used for less expensive sparkling wines).

The grapes are handpicked, then pressed and fermented in cold vats until the alcohol reaches about 6 degrees. After a light filtration that leaves most of the active yeast in the unfinished wine, it is bottled and continues its fermentation in the bottle, reaching about 7.5 or 8 degrees of alcohol and retaining a fair quantity of its original sugar. It is more “vinous” (or “Vineux” in French, meaning that the resulting wine still possess freshly crushed grapey primary aromas) than most Champagne, since there is neither dosage nor addition of yeast before the “second” fermentation in the bottle.

NV Renardat-Fache Vin du Bugey Cerdon Méthode Ancestrale is a great semi-sweet sparkling wine to enjoy at anytime. The color is light, festive pinkish red, with gentle bubbles. The nose is a bowl of freshly crushed red berries aromas intermingled with earthy, mineral and floral hints. The palate is soft, well rounded and well balanced, neither too sweet, neither too dry, just right in the middle, with a note of residual sugar in the finish. Really approachable, juicy and easy going. Spring and Summery, its effervescence will enhance any strawberry, cherry and raspberry desserts and sorbets, as well as chocolate.

Enjoy,

LeDom du Vin

Info partly taken from the importer at www.louisdressner.com and the distributor website at www.polanerselections.com

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic and Organic wines (and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe!