Domaine de Montbourgeau "Crémant du Jura Blanc" Brut Zéro, Jura, France NV

FROM ROSENTHAL:

THE WINE: Nicole Deriaux’s gold-standard Crémant du Jura is always from a single vintage (though it is labeled non-vintage), produced from Chardonnay from her younger vines. The fermentation occurs in stainless steel but after malolactic, the wine is racked into small barrel and demi-muids for two years. At that point, the entire production is assembled and left for several months in cuve before being bottled. This is a true “brut zero” and never receives a dosage, resulting in a linear, racy sparkler of mouthwatering minerality and sizzling drive.

THE PRODUCER: Domaine de Montbourgeau has produced traditional Jura wines since Victor Gros, the grandfather of current Vigneronne, Nicole Deriaux, first planted the estate’s vineyards in 1920. Nicole’s father, Jean Gros, was responsible for expanding the domaine once he acceded to the head of the family in 1956. Thirty years later (1986) Nicole joined her father and she now is fully responsible for the operation of the domaine. Her three sons are waiting in the wings.

The domaine’s nine hectares are devoted mostly to Chardonnay with Savagnin sited in 1.7 of those hectares; some Trousseau and Poulsard round out the plantings. The viticulture is organic and the vinification is strictly traditional respecting, in all aspects, the ancient practices of this region. Nicole Deriaux’s natural approach to every step of the process captures the true essence of the Etoile appellation in each of the separate bottlings done at the domaine.