Rijckaert — Côtes du Jura "Les Sarres" Savagnin 2015

Rijckaert — Côtes du Jura “Les Sarres” Savagnin 2015

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]omaine Rijckaert is one of the most respected names in both the Jura and the Mâconnais, with a history that blends the Belgian founder’s vision with the technical rigour of his natural successor.

Jean Rijckaert, a Belgian with an obsession for wine, began his career as a producer in 1990 in the Mâconnais, co-founding a small négociant house in Sologny where he refined his practices and sharpened his sensitivity as a winemaker. In 1998, he established his own eponymous domaine and acquired 4 hectares in the Mâconnais — principally within the Viré-Clessé appellation — and, convinced of the outstanding terroir quality of the Jura region he regularly explored, set up in Arbois, the capital of Jura wines, with 5 hectares of vines. Two vineyards and two cellars — in Davayé in Burgundy, and Villette-les-Arbois in the Jura — united by a single working philosophy.

In the early 2000s, Jean met Florent Rouve at a Saint-Véran tasting. The connection was immediate: with his heart in the Jura and his feet in Burgundy, Florent was irresistibly drawn to this winemaker who knew how to bring the best out of both vineyards. He became Jean’s alter ego — the one chosen to carry forward the torch of his passion and the demanding standards of winemaking that give Rijckaert wines their singular character: restricted yields, manual harvesting, slow and gentle pressing, indigenous yeasts, long ageing… and a few secrets of the vigneron’s own devising. In 2013, Florent officially took the helm of the domaine, backed by the Collovray and Terrier families.

Florent Rouve did not come from a winemaking background. His father, a geologist, instilled in him a love of nature. After training as an agricultural engineer and then as an oenologist in Dijon, he accumulated experience in vineyard and cellar before arriving at Domaine des Poncetys in Davayé in 2007, where he would meet Jean. He works across the Jura and the Mâconnais with a minimalist approach that honours both tradition and modernity.

The winemaking philosophy is unequivocal: the domaine’s guiding principle is “varietal specificity and terroir typicity.” To achieve this, respect for the integrity of the juice at every stage of the process is paramount: spontaneous alcoholic and malolactic fermentation using only the natural flora of the grapes and the cellar; almost all wines aged in barrel with very little new oak; long ageing on lees without batonnage — structure must come above all from the fruit itself.

The Vineyard: “Les Sarres” in Buvilly

The “Les Sarres” Savagnin comes from the village of Buvilly, with full east-facing exposure, on grey marls with gryphaea fossils from the Lower Bajocian (Lias and Trias). The domaine describes this terroir as Savagnin’s preferred habitat for expressing its full potential: “Substance, depth… there is a lot of wine in this wine.”

The grapes were harvested by hand and the wine was aged in neutral oak barrels for 22 months. The wine’s refreshing acidity counterbalances the complex, nutty flavours that develop during such prolonged lees contact. No insecticides or anti-rot agents were used in the vineyard, and only naturally occurring yeasts were employed.

The grapes come from the east-facing village of Buvilly, grown on limestone soils over grey marls, and the wine is made in old barrels with indigenous yeasts and extended lees contact of up to 24 months.

Technical Sheet — Les Sarres Savagnin 2015

Appellation: Côtes du Jura AOC · Vintage: 2015 · Varietal: 100% Savagnin · Ageing: Neutral oak barrels, ~22 months on lees · Alcohol: 13% vol. · Residual sugar: 1.9 g/l (effectively dry) · Winemaking: Manual harvest, indigenous yeasts, no synthetic products in the vineyard.

The 2015 vintage in the Jura was considered exceptionally favourable. The millésime 2015, renowned for its beneficial climatic conditions, allowed the richness of the Jurassian terroir to express itself in full. The continental climate, with mountain influences, delivered optimal ripeness and exceptional aromatic concentration. White wines from the Jura in 2015 showed higher alcohol levels than average, a clear sign of a harvest brought in at full maturity. Compared to previous vintages, 2015 clearly surpasses the difficult 2013 and 2014, both marked by excess rainfall and insufficient sunshine.

Sensory Tasting Notes

SIGHT
The wine presents a depth of colour that is striking for its variety and provenance: a deep golden yellow with amber glints that speak unambiguously to the ripeness of the vintage and the years of bottle ageing. The clarity is perfect, with an oily, unctuous quality on the glass that already anticipates the texture to come.

NOSE
Delicate notes of fresh walnut emerge with elegance on the first aromatic impression — without the aggressive oxidative character of a Vin Jaune. As the wine opens up in the glass, more complex layers appear: fresh almond, baked apple, beeswax, candied orange peel and a subtle hint of white spice — white pepper and curry in homeopathic doses. Notes of ripe quince, dried apricot and fresh herbs add depth and sophistication to the bouquet. There is no trace of excessive oxidative character: the wine was made in a way that allows the varietal fruit to express itself with complete freedom, without the intervention of the flor yeast veil typical of Vin Jaune. As the wine gradually warms in the glass, the nose becomes more generous and complex.

PALATE
The texture is genuinely oily and unctuous, with walnut flavours returning on the palate alongside highly persistent mineral and saline notes. An elegant Savagnin that bears no resemblance to the oxidative styles more commonly associated with the variety. The roundness is remarkable, with interwoven notes of spice, chalk, white flowers, well-integrated dried fruit and honey, all underpinned by a bright citric acidity on the finish. The wine is full-bodied with a moderate yet persistent salinity, built for serious gastronomy. The calcareous minerality of the Buvilly terroir surfaces in the retro-olfaction as an unmistakable signature. The balance between acidity, the richness of extended lees ageing and the ripe fruit of the 2015 vintage is outstanding.

AGEING POTENTIAL
With more than a decade behind it, this bottle is at an optimal moment for enjoyment: the sharp edges of youth have given way to a tertiary complexity of great depth. This wine has considerable ageing potential and can continue to evolve positively for a further five to eight years in proper cellar conditions.

CONCLUSION
Savagnin in its purest expression. The aromatic complexity on the nose is breathtaking: a fusion of fresh almond, green apple, white pepper and citrus that in the mouth becomes richer and denser. A wine in which Rijckaert found in its most prized terroir a wonderful opportunity to give voice to everything this variety can offer. There is a great deal of wine in this wine.