ABOUT: Domaine Andre and Mireille Tissot was founded in the 1960’s in the commune of Montigny-Les-Arsures, a mountainous region of the Jura just outside of Arbois. Currently, production is handled by Benedicte and Stephane Tissot, and their 35-45 hectares of vines are certified biodynamic. This is rugged, hillside winemaking and they have a large year round staff to work it all. In the winery, native yeasts are used for fermentation and minimal amounts of sulfur is used, if at all. This can all be said about a lot of wineries/winemakers, but these wines are really something special. TASTE: I am not going to bore you with the long, convoluted story detailing the genetic connection between Savagnin and Traminer, except for one piece that relates directly to this wine. Long ago, this unstable grape variety and it is various genetic mutations were being divided up, stylistically. Arbitrarily, the name Savagnin was given to the non-aromatic version, while Traminer was given to the aromatic version. This grape is known as Savagnin in the Jura, but this Tissot Savagnin wine is massively aromatic, hence being called Traminer. If you want to know more about the genetic situation with Savagnin follow this link to a brilliant article written by James Halliday called You say Savagnin, I say Traminer. This wine is medium-bodied with rich tree fruit aromas and flavors, peach and apricot, baking spices, lemons, nuts and honeyed viscosity. Supremely delicious and unique, and a welcome change of pace from a steady diet of Pinot Grigio and Riesling. PAIR: Curry! cinnamon, sweet onion, Thai food, Indian food, pasta loaded with garlic, Muenster, and Roquefort.
