2017 Domaine Bordenave Cuvee des Dames Jurançon 750 ml

A prominent French winemaker once told us the biggest mistake wine buyers make in drinking after-dinner wines is…

…drinking them after dinner.

“Why would you save what is probably your most complex, aromatically intense wine of the night for the end, when your senses are dullest?” he passionately asked.

That conversation came to mind as we langorously took in the aromatics of our gold-hued glass of the 2017 Domaine Bordenave Cuvée des Dames Jurançon, delighting our olfactory senses with a sumptuous tapestry of orchard fruit and herbal aromas. 

Crafted by one of the oldest, most storied estates in Jurançon, this is a 94-point Wine Enthusiast Editors’ Choice selection the magazine called “intense, rich and honeyed.” Grown solely on estate vineyards and crafted in the winery’s cellar, it shows why Robert Parker included Bordenave in his book, The World’s Best Wine Values Under $25.

Unlike Sauternes, which relies on botrytis (aka “noble rot”) to accumulate sugars, many estates in Jurançon, including Domaine Bordenave, rely on passerillage: increasing concentration by exposing the grapes to the sun and warm, dry winds. As a result, the wines are less unctuous than many sweet wines and characterized by a refreshing acidity that makes them incredibly versatile pairing partners for a wide range of foods.

Few estates here have been at it as long as Domaine Bordenave, who grows Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng on the pebbly western and southern slopes of Monein, where vines bask in abundant sunlight.

Fermented in vats and then aged on the fine lees for a year before bottling, this cuvée’s complexity leaves no doubt as to why the wine received such glowing critical plaudits from Enthusiast.