Serious Mondeuse

Enologist, Jean-Yves Péron started his little domain in 2004 in Chevaline in Savoie, just a few mile south of the Lac d'Annecy. After 7 years now, the domain consists of 2ha in total including 1.5 ha of mondeuse and the rest being the typical white varietals of Savoie (jacquère, altesse and roussanne).

Jean-Yves who worked and learned with Thierry Allemand has a very natural approach towards winemaking. Minimal sulfur is used (inferior to 2mg). The 2005 Côte Pelée is a special selection of very old mondeuse vines, some of them over 100 years old. Interesting to note the appelation, Vin de Pays d'Allobrogie. This was a 1st for me and had never heard of this AOP before. While this was a little early to open this wine (yes, not all the wines from Savoie are meant to be drunk within a year after skiing), I could not resist. This was superb. Lovely nose, barnyardy with violets. Plenty of pure dark red fruits with a hint of green olives. Balanced, with a medium body with a slightly grainy texture, lacking a little on the mid palate at first, it then develops nicely in the glass. Red cherry with some blackberry as well. High acidity, some tannins on the finish. Really a lovely wine.
It was crazy how this was reminding me of a syrah. I closed my eyes and found myself in Cornas, with maybe more acidity than in the Northen Rhone. Well, not really a surprise since apparently the Mondeuse is the grand mother of syrah !
Anyway, syrah or not, go out and try Jean-Yves wines.

A transparent Chablis

Alice and Olivier de Moor are both enologists from the enological school in Dijon. While still working for another estate, they began replanting plots in Chablis (Bel Air, Clardy and Rosette). It was not until 1994 that they produced their first wines (a ridiculous small amount). They tried
and experimented a lot at the beginning . They have now been working their vines organically since 2005.
Only indigenous yeasts are used and there is no SO2 used at harvest or during the vinification. The elevage is done in barrels of different ages for the Chablis.



Alice and Olivier went a little further in this 2008 Chablis, L'humeur du Temps. Indeed, there is absolutely no sulfur, not even during bottling. This Chablis is their entry level.
The wine, surprisingly had a lot of weight at first with a touch of butter both on the palate and nose. But then, after a few minutes, it is an explosion of minerality which cuts through the ripe fruit. This is a delicious Chablis, pure, full of lemony notes backed up by a tremendous minerality. Really good right now. A thirst wine.




You can only respect the work winemakers like Alice and Olivier de Moor when you drink a bottle like this.

2005 Dard & Ribo Crozes-Hermitage

René-Jean Dard and François Ribo started their winery back in 1984. They met at the Lycée Viticole de Beaune in Burgundy. From the start they worked in a natural way, using no or very little sulfur and no entrants. René-Jean Dard father, a winemaker as well, was already working this way so it seems natural for his son to follow the same philosophy even if they were told the opposite at school.
Located in Mercurol, they make Crozes-Hermitage, St Joseph and Hermitage in both colors.
Their Crozes-Hermitage red is made from plots located mainly in Larnage, on red clay with gravel and alluvial stones.

This 2005 Dard&Ribo Crozes-Hermitage was damn good ! This was textbook Crozes and have this sense of place. Olives and red fruits with some bacon notes. Very floral. Mouthwatering, high acidity, surprising for 2005, making it perfect with food. Fresh, a little darker on the palate, it is really delicious.
I read that René-Jean and François think their Crozes is to drink young, a wine to enjoy in its first years. I have to admit, after trying the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 that they are indeed really good in their youth but needs around 3 years to develop (the 08 drunk in October 2010 was really tight).

The fact that they have minimal doses of SO2 may also make them a little more fragile than other wines, especially when they have to be shipped overseas in, sometimes, less than ideal conditions.
That said, I would be intrigued and happy to try one of their wines with some age. To be continued then....!

Juralicious !

Everytime we go back home to Paris for a little while, we try to bring back a few cheeses that can't be found here. So after a mad shopping at Aleosse, one of the best fromager in France, we had a few friends home to share aged Comté, aged mimolette and aged gruyere. Of course, no jam, fruits, peanuts or other crap: just fresh bread and cheese, the way it should be.


Comté has its own AOP, Appelation d'Orgine Controllée, and the production area is spread over 3 departments: Jura, Doubs and l'Ain. 2 breeds of cows are permitted for the milk: Montbéliarde (95% of the cattle) or Simmental française (5%) and only fresh grass is allowed as food. The fruitière is the place where all the farmers bring and gather the milk. Close to 160 fruitières are spread out over the 3 departments. The comté is then made, all year long, based on a traditional process.





The mimolette is basically Edam cheese (Dutch) but is using a coloring powder to give it its famous orange color. The other name for mimolette is Boule de Lille as it is assumed that Lille was an important production area. Now Normandy is also producing a lot of mimolette. The holes of the cheese are made thanks to small mites who are introduced in the ageing cellars. Those mites are also responsible for the complexity of the mimolette and are brushed off the cheese when done. Unlike the comté, mimolette is best around 2 years old as it loses its flavors if aged longer.


Lastly, my favorite or close, the Vacherin of Haut-Doubs: le Mont d'or. Just like the comté, Mont D'or has its own AOP. It has been named after the highest mountain of the Doubs and was already on Louis XV table. During fall, the cows are returning to the cowshed after spending the summer outside in the mountain. As the milk production was lower, this was not enough to make comté so the farmers got the idea of producing a small cheese who was named at the time (and still now): fromage "de boîte" after the wooden box holding the Mont d'Or. The cheese is seasonal and is available only a few months (around Christmas) and made with raw milk from the same cows used for comté. You will need close to 7 liters of milk to make 1Kg of cheese.
The affinage usually lasts 21 days, minimum, on spruce planks and then placed in one spruce ring, slightly smaller than the cheese itself, giving its wrinkled rind.


In order to get ready for those cheeses, we started with a beautiful blanc de blancs Jacques Lassaigne, Les Vignes de Montgueux. Usually a pinot noir terroir, the chardonnay here benefits from the chalky soil. Very low sulfur, expressive nose, white chocolate and pear. Plenty of chalk as well. This Champagne is rich but with elegance thanks to the acidity and minerality. Pure with a long finish, discreet leesiness. Very good.


On to the cheeses. I tried to pair the different cheeses with a few wines. I though the aged mimolette would work with an old claret and the aged comte and gruyere would do well with some white Jura which would also cut though the creaminess of the Mont d'Or.


First to go was the 1986 Laurel Glen cabernet from Sonoma with the mimolette. Pairing was ok, not the best ever but not the worst either. I said that on the'91 but have to say it again: I wish more Cali cabs were done this way. Really gorgeous nose with earthy and smoky notes along cassis and violets. Riper and a little bigger than the '91 and not showing the bell pepper notes, this is a nice expression a cabernet from Sonoma. Palate confirms the nose with some cedar notes with again a lot of cassis and interesting sour cherry on the finish. Balanced. Tannins are a little rustic but based on this bottle, this wine has more years in him.




The 2 Jura wines, the 2003 La Mailloche from Stephane Tissot and a 2002 Puffeney Arbois Savagnin were simply outstanding.
The 2003 La Mailloche did not show any over ripeness or flabbiness. The clayish soils and eastern aspect helped to manage better the 2003 heat and the wine was beautifully balanced. Nutty with some green apple and a touch of honey and smoke. Floral. An apparent minerality links everything together. The palate is an example of balance, coating your palate with no lack of acidity and no sign of heaviness. Tasting this blind would take you on a top Meursault. Intoxicating, complex and stunning.
This Puffeney Savagnin was fantastic. Iodine and a lot of spicy curry notes on the nose. Light walnut as well. I was expecting a more oxidised style but this is mildly oxidised. Wine is flowing on your palate, superb acidity with more lemony notes on a medium body. Awesome comté rind notes as well.Long finish. Complex and fresh.

Those whites Jura were clearly a very good pairing with the pungent flavors of the cheese. Thanks to their complexity and lenght, they were abble to stand out to the cheese and play with it all the way.