Montbourgeau Cote du Jura Trousseau 2022
The Wine
Produced in microscopic quantities, Montbourgeau’s refined, balanced Trousseau comes from southeast-exposed vines planted in soils of grey marl. César employs 50% whole clusters in its vinification, using mainly pump-overs with very few punch-downs during a seven-day maceration; aging takes place half in stainless steel and half in used 228-liter barrels for just under one year. Bursting with juicy cherries and soil-kissed strawberries, this offers a bit more depth and concentration than some version of the variety, winking subtly at Burgundy without at all sacrificing its essential Jura spirit.
The Details
Variety - Trousseau
Country - France
Region - Jura
Extra - Cork
Year - 2022
Volume - 750ml
About the Wine Maker 
The vineyard was planted in 1920, by Nicole Deriaux's grandfather, and has produced traditional Jura wines since. In 1956 Nicole’s father, Jean Gros, became the head of the family and taking his turn to develop the vineyard and the cellar. Then some thirty years later in 1986, it was finally time for Nicole to take part in the operation of the Domaine. Continuing the family tradition, she is now helped by her son Cesar. They Deriaux's are hard-working people, with their efforts reflected in bottle. The wines are precise, straightforward, and with superb intensity.
The ten hectares of vines are composed primarily of Chardonnay and Savagnin, as well as some reds with a small planting of Trousseau and Poulsard. The vineyard is organically farmed, and the vinification is very traditional, respecting the ancient practices of this region. Nicole Deriaux through her natural approach to viticulture and winemaking aims to retain and fully express the purity of l'Etoile terroir.
When harvest time comes, the grapes are pick by hands and then vinified in the cave underneath Deriaux's home. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks using strictly indigenous yeasts. Then all the wines are racked into a mix of old foudres, demi-muids and smaller barrels. The whites are matured in barrel; they are never racked; they are not topped off.
The small quantity of wines produced is then bottled, with no fining and a light filtration. The L'Etoile signature style, crafted by talented Nicole Deriaux, are wines of unique purity and elegance.
THE WINE FRONT, MIKE BENNIE: “One of those Jura producers that seems to get overlooked for the Instagrammable ones, and by virtue of that, leaves us, the righteous, opportunity to access the wines! Hurrah!”, “Organic producer that sits under the radar in Jura, but is firmly on mine now. It took me a while to get to these wines, but when I did they suddenly became very important in my Jura matrix.”
