Domaine des Cavarodes - RASTAFIA

Vin de Liqueur

Chardonnay, Trousseau

 Jura, France

From the importer 

When Etienne began Domaine des Cavarodes in 2007, he was fortunate to acquire a few very old parcels of vines between 60 and 120 years of age.  These vines are just on the north side of the Loue, and therefore just outside the appellation of Arbois.  The parcels are planted to several extremely old and rare Jura varieties that are great curiosities to nurseries in the Jura and beyond.  Etienne’s vineyard work has been organic since the beginning, including his plots within the Arbois appellation in Les Messagelins, which he converted to organic farming upon arrival.

Etienne is very much a natural winemaker.  His red wines are semi-carbonic, and are made without any added SO2.  They are hand de-stemmed, and mature in neutral barrels and foudres of various sizes and ages.  Etienne’s whites see a small addition of sulfur before fermentation. 

For such a small Domaine, Etienne makes a wide range of wines, some named for soil types or fossils and others for the vineyards that produce them.  Of particular note is his red field blend, which features a total of 12 varieties (akin to J’En Veux from Ganevat).  His white wines, including a blended cuvee of Savagnin, Savagnin Rose, and Sauvignonasse are for the most part made ouillé and show great purity, finesse, and detail.  They sometimes contain a bit of residual CO2 and can benefit from a carafe.

These wines show Etienne’s firm roots in the natural wine community, the reds marked by the juicy tang of carbonic maceration, and the whites lightly oxidative.  The wines show far more than just Etienne’s natural wine roots, however, and are beautiful expressions of the limestone, clay, and marl of the northern Jura.