L'Aristocratte N.V

The Jura has its own fortified wine, Macvin du Jura, which has been made in these hills since the fourteenth century. The method is simple: arrest freshly pressed grape must with a local eau-de-vie before fermentation takes hold, then age the result in oak until it becomes something rich, sweet, and entirely its own. Domaine Ratte follows exactly that process with L'Aristocratte, blending Chardonnay and Savagnin must with fine and marc before ageing in oak for a minimum of twelve months. The technical difference of using both fine and marc disqualifies it from the Macvin AOC.

In every other sense, this is the real thing.

On the nose it opens with honey, warm spice, and a thread of caramel that gives way to something drier and more mineral underneath. The palate is rich but not heavy — Michel-Henri's biodynamic farming gives the grapes an acidity that stops it from becoming too sweet. Serve cold before a meal, or alongside a walnut tart at the end of one. Either way, don't rush it.