Late last year I got a discount offer on wine from my mobile service provider, T-Mobile, from WSJ Wine. I have always known WSJ Wine as a wine of the month club, meaning that I would get several bottles of wine each month unless I specifically instructed the club to skip that month. As such, I was very leery of clubs like this because I associated them with record clubs from the 1980s. Back then, if you did not say no you received a record selection the club picked, along with a bill. (Kids, ask your parents/grandparents about this!)
It’s one thing to get billed for a vinyl record or CD you didn’t want, it’s quite another to get billed for bottles of wine you didn’t want.
Thankfully, with WSJ Wine you can order cases on demand at really great prices and do not have to purchase a monthly subscription. They do have a wine of the month club option, but having too many bad memories from the old record clubs it’s a hard pass for me. Being able to buy on my timeline rather than theirs works best for me.
The first wine I sampled from WSJ Wine was a Côte du Jura from Michel Tissot & Fils. I never had a Côtes du Jura before, so I was skeptical about it. The grape varietal was savagnin, one of the common varietals from the region along with chardonnay. Outside of Côtes du Jura, however, savagnin is not a common varietal and it produces a low yield. Do not expect to see a great number of these in your local wine shop.
The Côtes du Jura region is located between Dijon, France, and Geneva, Switzerland. You don’t commonly see wines from this region on wine lists or in stores, which is a pity. Michel Tissot produces a terrific wine. Of course, there are other producers from the region that also make spectacular wines, so do explore if you find wines from this region at your local store.
In the glass, Michel Tissot’s Côtes du Jura has a rich golden color. The nose is herbal with delicate fruit that subtly comes through. It is very sublime in the glass.
The flavors that I got were plum and apple. The wine was very fruit-forward. In fact, I would describe the fruit of this as explosive. There was a subtle citrus background to balance out the taste.
In terms of finish, I got orange and citrus. One reviewer got tropical notes, and I agree with that.
For dinner, I paired it with a broiled salmon. This didn’t work for me because the fruitiness of the wine clashed with the intense flavor of the salmon. Salmon for me has a very pronounced flavor. It was not a pairing that was full-on YUCK, but a better fish pairing would have been a grilled white fish like cod or a ceviche, where the tropical and citrus flavors would make a delightful pairing.
As an accompaniment to the salmon, I had sautéed green beans with some seasoning. That was fantastic. The wine stood up perfectly to the sharp taste of the beans.
The next night I tried the wine with a veal Milanese my wife made and the pairing was perfect. This wine can also pair well with cheeses like Gruyère or Emmenthaler.
In terms of cost, it came bundled in the WSJ Wine case, so I do not have the exact price. At Total Wine in Milford, it lists at $29.98 a bottle.
Rating: 8 out of 10