Domaine Berthet-Bondet Cotes du Jura “Tradition” 2002
I was recently listening to a talk given by wine importer Neal Rosenthal during which he remarked that what motivates and excites him about a wine is when it has subtlety, nuance, and uniqueness. I found myself thinking of this when we opened a bottle of Domaine Berthet-Bondet’s Tradition, a wine produced in France’s Jura region where some of the most remarkable and unique wines in the world are being made. In my mind, the Jura region is the home to producers of wines that speak volumes about the place they come from, the unique production methods that have been handed down by generations, and that challenge both your taste buds and your expectations. Not to mention that they are delicious wines as well.
This bottle from Berthet-Bondet is a perfect example of all of those facets. The Tradition is a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Savagnin that is aged for two years in oak casks without topping up. This period where the wine ages sous voile imparts an exciting range of flavors that no other white wine (other than those produced similarly in the Jura) captures. This approach is unique to Jura producers where it is used to great effect to produce a range of white wines.
Berthet-Bondet does not have the long history of other Jura producers, but they have gained a solid reputation in a relatively short amount of time. The winery was reopened in 1985 by Chantal and Jean Berthet-Bondet after having lain dormant for nearly 50 years. The hectares that comprise the winery’s holdings cover 10 hectares, 5 in the Cotes du Jura appellation and 5 in the very prestigious Chateau-Chalon appellation (where only Savagnin can legally be grown, and only Vin Jaune can legally be produced). From these 10 hectares, Berthet-Bondet produce several wines including a Chateau-Chalon Vin Jaune; a 100%-Savagnin wine that is aged sous voile for three years before bottling; Rubis, a red wine made from Trousseau, Poulsard (the Jura’s two unique red-grape varieties), and Pinot Noir; and a Vin De Paille made from a blend of Chardonnay, Savagnin, and Poulsard.
This particular bottling, Tradition, is the only wine of theirs that I have come across, and we’ve now finished our second bottle, which makes me a bit sad if only because both bottles were quite good, and I’d love to try others from them. Of course, it goes without saying that I’d go nuts to try their Chateau-Chalon*.
What struck me about this wine was how much it had changed in the bottle. The aromas and flavors were all much more pronounced and sharp compared to my memory of previously tasting it. One recurrent theme encountered when reading about Jura white wines regards their aging potential. Vin Jaune is said to age gracefully for 50 years and more, and most producers recommend waiting until they have reached at least 10 years of age before drinking them. And other sous voile whites are said to age well for 20-30 years. In this case we’re only talking about an additional 2 years in bottle, but it is clear that even this amount of time made a difference in the wine in the glass.
The wine pours the color of unpolished brass with a deep, golden luster and glinting amber highlights. The nose has aromas of walnuts, burnt sugar, and nutmeg with hints of citrus. After some time in the glass a creamy, sweet note of custard enters the mix. The wine has a soft, velvety body with a strikingly acidic current running through it. The flavors are similar to the nose, with walnuts, hazelnuts, and burnt sugar accompanied by flavors of creme anglaise and caramel. Notes of walnuts and burnt sugar predominate on the finish, underscored by a citrus acidity.
I was surprised to find this wine had much more sous voile character than I had expected. The nutty, burnt sugar notes that were present throughout the glass were delicious, but admittedly not what I had expected. That being said, this wine confirmed my enjoyment of Jura white wines, which I find to be some of the most exciting and challenging wines (and whites in particular) that I ever have the chance to drink.
This was also a challenging glass temperature-wise. We originally drank it cool, but as time showed, it really needed to warm up for the spices and creaminess to come out. Before that, the acidity was bracing and overwhelmed many of the other flavors. The ideal temperature was somewhere between white wine and red wine temps.
This was a very good wine, and like I said it’s a shame it was our last bottle. Hopefully we’ll stumble across some of their wines again at some point. In the meantime, my eagle eyes will remain alert for the sight of any other Jura white wines.
*Perhaps the most exhilarating “wine dream” that I harbor is to someday try a Chateau-Chalon, the reputed pinnacle of Vin Jaune. Wines from this appellation only began being imported into the U.S. during the last year or two. From that start Chateau-Chalon has fascinated me with its miniscule acreage (~90 hectares), and law permitting the growing of only Savagnin, and the production of only Vin Jaune. With such small acreage, production of Chateau-Chalon is very small, and the wines very hard to find.
The ultra-rarefied version of this dream is to try a Chateau-Chalon from Jean Macle, the Chateau-Chalon winemaker with the highest reputation. But alongside Macle are fine producers such as Berthet-Bondet, Domaine Philippe Butin, and Domaine Durand-Perron. When it comes right down to it, I’d be ecstatic to have the chance to try the Chateau-Chalon from any one of these four producers!!
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Nathan,
We met a few months ago at Amherst Coffee’s aged whiskey tasting, and we were discussing Chateau Chalon. Don’t know if you recall, but I had tasted some of Macle’s wines, including a 99 Cht Chalon, and was about to open an 00 Montbourgeau Vin Jaune, and you were curious to hear about the comparison. I finally got around to opening the Montbourgeau, and while it was delicious, Macle was just on another plane in comparison. Montbourgeau was totally correct and well-made–lots of hazelnut, some butterscotch and nutmeg on the nose, strong acidic backbone–but Macle had a richness to it and an intensely mineral character that Montbourgeau lacked. It was much more tightly wound, with incredible depth, and even better acidity, it will need time to unravel but should be pretty spectacular. It was so richly textured, oily and glycerous, that I almost didn’t notice that it was oxidized. Even controlling for the vintages (99 was supposed to be a bit stronger than 00), the Chateau Chalon wins easily. I got my hands on a couple of bottles of 02 Berthet Bondet Cht Chalon, and plan on opening one a little later on this summer. I’m happy to keep you posted when I do. Thanks again for the whiskey tasting–great stuff!
Thanks for posting the update! The Montbourgeau Vin Jaune sounds great, but the Macle does indeed sound superlative. One of these days I’ll get a chance to try one. Where did you find the Berthet-Bondet Chateau-Chalon?!
Interestingly, when I was speaking with Neal Rosenthal a few weeks ago (he imports Domaine de Montbourgeau’s wines) we talked both about their Vin Jaune and the comparison to Chateau-Chalon wines. He made a similar comparison as you mention, that in certain years the Chateau-Chalon has more richness than Vin Jaunes from outside the DOC, but that he felt overall the quality was very similar when you’re comparing top-flight Vin Jaunes such as those from Jacques Puffeney and Domaine de Montbourgeau. He did single out the Macle Chateau-Chalons as potentially being on another plane though.
Definitely keep the updates coming, this is great stuff!