We twice rolled out the red carpet for Dorbon in 2018 and 2019 and, like ravenous paparazzi, every bottle was snapped up in a flash. Unfortunately, that opportunity did not come in 2020, but when you’re new on the winemaking scene and already being discussed in the same breath as Jura’s finest (which are among the most sought-after labels in the sommelier world) the agonizing waiting game is to be expected. It’s a bittersweet feeling, certainly, but his small lineup of “culty” wines is well worth the wait: These generously priced wines shatter France’s price-to-quality scale, (2) they read more like polished, high-end Burgundy, and (3) they’re produced in the smallest of quantities which makes savoring a bottle all the more satisfying.
In case you are wondering, Dorbon’s microscopic annual production isn’t by clever design or ploy: The man only owns three hectares of vines, of which a third are planted to red, and from that, he bottles just two cuvées. One of those is today’s fusion of Pinot Noir and Poulsard, a vivifying red that comes from gnarled old vines in the “Les Bernardines” vineyard. It is an explosive, highly intelligent, deeply expressive treat. We believe it to be his finest bottling, and have no doubt that you’ll find immense pleasure behind the cork be it now or 5-10 years down the road.
I don’t fault anyone for exercising caution in France’s Jura region. I’ll be the first to say that for every life-changing bottle that emerges from the hillside village of Arbois, it seems like there are 10 others that disappoint or worse, are deeply flawed. Still, there’s a shortlist of top producers who seem to have “cracked the code” and release outstanding, world-class wine every vintage. Houillon-Overnoy, Jacques Puffeney, Jean-François Ganevat, Michel Gahier—these are names that sommeliers and collectors fight over every release, locking the wines into an endless cycle of higher prices and tighter availability. Fortunately, for those of us who don’t have unlimited financial resources and time with which to pursue Jura wines, there is a new name in the Jura producing wines of extraordinary quality and bulletproof consistency.
Joseph Dorbon is the proprietor of a small bed & breakfast in the small village of Vadans, across the road from Montigny-lès-Arsures (one of the region’s most prized hillsides) and six miles north of Arbois, the viticultural epicenter of Jura. Dorbon began farming grapes and producing wine in 1996 but has stayed almost entirely out of the public eye until quite recently. He works a small collection of vineyards and the microscopic amount of wine they produce initially flowed exclusively to guests of Dorbon’s B&B and local restaurants—but quickly became a “secret treasure” for devoted Jura collectors and sommeliers.
The vines that produce today’s wine are located in “Les Bernardines,” a single parcel of 40+-year-old Pinot Noir and Poulsard planted in the region’s famed limestone and clay soil. Dorbon’s vines are in the final stage of achieving official organic certification and are tilled by horse and harvested by hand. The clusters are de-stemmed and fermented separately with natural, airborne yeasts. The Poulsard (a.k.a Ploussard) ages in stainless steel while the Pinot Noir ages in neutral 225-liter French oak barrels for at least 18 months before the two are masterfully blended together. This gradual, patient process holds more in common with cellars one hour west in Burgundy than it does with some of Dorbon’s more progressive neighbors in the Jura. In other words, this is not a funky, spritzy, “challenging” Jura wine. On the contrary, Dorbon’s careful and judicious work in the vines and cellar creates a gorgeously refined red that owes equal homage to Burgundy and its native alpine terroir.
As with all the greatest Jura reds, one glass of this wine instantly transports you directly to Joseph Dorbon’s rural hillside vineyard. His 2016 “Les Bernardines” Vieilles Vignes (old vines) unfurls with pure class once it splashes into a large Burgundy stem after a short decant. This is alpine country, made apparent by the aromatic multitude of muddled herbs, crushed river stones, wildflowers, and mountainside foliage in the glass. As more oxygen arrives, the wine begins unwinding even further, revealing vividly ripe, sun-kissed fruits in the form of wild strawberry, black cherry, and crushed brambleberries. It’s a superbly fresh wine that pings the senses with enlivening acidity, crunchy tannins, and luxurious layers that feel like we’re due west, in the upper-echelons of Burgundy. Accordingly, it will age as such—I don’t think 10 or 15 years is out of the question! I love wines like Dorbon’s. Jura is more than a culty, esoteric appellation strictly for sommeliers, the very best can bring ineffable pleasure to lovers of Burgundy, Willamette, Loire Valley—really, any region that focuses on finesse, purity, and sublime elegance. Cheers!
