2012 Francois Rousset-Martin, Savagnin “Vignes aux Dames” Cotes du Jura, White, France.
The tiny boutique winery of Russet-Martin does not much more than a thousand cases each vintage, and not much of it gets to the US, but Kermit Lynch kindly was showing there new Jura find around and it was very exciting to taste these rare goodies, especially compelling was this brisk, non-oxidative Savagnin, the Vignes aux Dames. This was my first and only time to taste Francois Rousset-Martin and I was very impressed, these latest wines are all well made and interesting wines, though I do prefer the less sherry like style with the vivid fresh character more to my tastes, but traditional minded Jura fans will certainly love the 2008 Clos Bacchus Savagnin with it’s nutty pure charm, these both will age for another decade easily. The Jura region is seeing lots of excitement, and exploitation with big firms and even Burgundy houses buying vineyards and wineries in this once mysterious and isolated place, so it is nice to discover a new face and one with generational roots get some success, especially with the generational changes going on with retirements and the younger set starting to make their mark on the world stage. The Rosset-Martin Savagnin 2012 Vignes aux Dames is young and tight with good intensity, persistence and vigor showing lemon/lime, quince, kumquat and unripe apple fruits, hints of hay/straw leesy notes (both taste and textural), mineral essence and bitter almond oil. The color is light golden and the body fills out with air, it has plenty of tangy acidity and puckering zest, it has a lot of drive, focus and balance, but it needs a bit of cellar time to come out of it’s shell, I should imagine it will develop into a stunning example over the next 3 to 5 years. There will be those that can’t wait, and while that might be a shame, they will not be disappointed in this intriguing Jura white, drink from 2016 to 2022.
($35 Est.) 92+ Points, grapelive
