2015 Joseph Dorbon, Arbois “Cuvée des Moyne”, Jura, France.
The bright golden hued 2015 Cuvée des Moyne Arbois Blanc is a 100% old school Jura style white, mainly Chardonnay, with a core of chalky, stony, nutty yellow fruits, showing lemon, apple, pear and baked apricot that are almost over shadowed by pecan oil, salty bitter almond, yeast and orange tea notes. Light rose petal petal, clove spice, wet stone and oyster shell add to the complexity here in this medium/full bodied and nicely mature wine, that while intense, is still texturally pleasing and it shines with food, especially firm or soft cheeses, I might recommend Comte, the local favorite. and or poultry dishes. The traditional techniques of classic Jura whites was employed here, including barrel aging with oxygen exposure and a formation of a thin veil or layer of yeast, called voile locally, on the top surface that gives this Chardonnay (and maybe 20% Savagnin) a certain body, oxidized character and texture with savory flavors, as present here. Savagnin tends to be brisker and racer, while the Chardonnay tends to be richer and more rounded, again as this Dorbon version highlights.
From what I understand, the now retired, Joseph Dorbon began as vigneron in 1996, with just three hectares of organically tended vines, which were ideally set on prime south-facing slopes above his home village of Vadans, in the Jura region and with only a horse to help him plow and a subterranean 16th-century cellar in which to work his magic. Dorbon’s vineyards were planted to a mix of Trousseau, Poulsard, and Pinot Noir for the reds and Chardonnay and Savagnin for the whites. All of the grapes were hand harvested, with his whites then getting whole cluster pressed with the Chardonnay (based) still wine fermented in ancient 225-liter barrels and is left in the barrel to age for 24 months before bottling. The Arbois white wine is never racked during aging and are raised sous voile, or under a veil of flor yeast, hence the classic Jura or Sherry like nuttiness. The still white wines are the product of grapes harvested exclusively from old vines that are at least 40 years old on the legendary mountain limestone soils here. Importer Rosenthal still has many vintages and cuvées from Dorbon and while very limited, the wines can be found and are very studied examples of Arbois, like this one, which I recommend to fans of the region.
($42 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive