France’s 50 best winemakers: Stéphane Tissot of Domaine Bénédicte et Stéphane Tissot
Co-owner and winemaker of his family estate in Arbois: “I got ahead by turning to the past”
The 34th interview in Le Figaro Vin’s series finds us in the heart of the Jura, where Stéphane Tissot, #17, runs his family’s 50-hectare biodynamic estate. The 53-year-old now embodies one of the region’s most emblematic vineyards, inspiring and training a whole generation of future winemakers.
Over the years, a number of key encounters have led Stéphane Tissot to adopt a radically different approach to that of his father (Hervé, ed.), “who did a good job, but in a very classical style”. Having grown up amongst the family vines, 1990 was his first vintage. As with many young winemakers, he first made his mark in the estate’s cellars, where he put a stop to the practice of stirring the lees in the Chardonnays, before reducing chemical intervention on the vines as much as possible. While working in an Australian vineyard during the off-season, he found himself opening the same packet of yeast as the ones being used in France. “I realised there was a problem, and that’s what encouraged me to move towards a healthier way of growing grapes and making wine.” His shift towards organic methods allowed him to unlearn everything that his years of study had tried to instil in him: “At the time, we were going completely against the grain of what was being done in the Jura,” he acknowledges. “In our region, you can make any kind of wine: light reds, concentrated reds, dry whites, oxidative whites, crémants, the list goes on!” Despite having now made more than forty different wines and almost ten ullaged Savagnins (where the barrels are topped up with wine to prevent the oxidation process, ed.), he doesn’t seem to have lost an ounce of his enthusiasm, with any excesses managed by his wife and teammate of 30 years, Bénédicte. “Thankfully, we enjoy what we do!” he says, before heading off for the unmissable 9 o’clock coffee break with the rest of the team.
Le Figaro Vin: How does it feel to be crowned a winemaking champion?
Stéphane Tissot: My wife is against the idea of star status, we’re very much country people first and foremost. We’re often featured in the media, which we’re certainly not going to complain about. I’m very happy to receive this honour, especially as we made the choice not to have a vineyard manager or an oenologist, and to be the only ones making decisions. It is a wonderful recognition of our work.
Have you been training for long?
Since I was a child. When I got back from school, my father would be waiting for me, as I was the only one who was able to get inside the smallest barrels to clean them. My old primary school teacher once told me that, as soon as it was harvest time, my marks would suddenly take a nosedive, as my thoughts were elsewhere. And, during geography lessons, I would mix up the Rhône Valley with the Côtes-du-Rhône.
Who is your mentor?
Many people have helped us along the way, giving us ideas. The first person who helped me was Jean-Claude Ramonet, who studied with me in Beaune. We drank a lot of Chassagne-Montrachet 1983 together, and it was the first time I understood the influence of the terroir on a Chardonnay. When it comes to crémants, the estate that really made me rethink my ideas was that of Guillaume Selosse, after a tasting in the cellar there. Last but not least, here in the Jura, I can’t go without mentioning Pierre Overnoy.
Is wine a team sport?
There are two possibilities: either you run your little 3-hectare vineyard on your own, or you work as a team. There are more than thirty people who work with us, most of whom are here all year round – many even decide to settle here. They call themselves “La Tissoterie” (a play on the Tissots’ surname, ed.). The important thing for me is that people are happy to come to work.
What is the key to making a good wine? The terroir or the winemaker?
First, you need to know how to make wine, and how to grow grapes organically. But that is not enough – to make great wines or wines that have personality, that is where the terroir comes into play. If you have a great terroir but a bad winemaker, you won’t get anywhere.
To whom do you owe your success?
To my parents and to my wife. I am the youngest of three children, and I was the only one who was interested in making wine. My parents instilled in me the importance of working hard.
Is your family proud of you?
I think so, but that’s something that nobody ever talks about where we come from.
Who is your best sponsor?
Our agents and importers in Paris, New York, and Brussels. They are the ones who put our wines in the spotlight.
What is your favourite colour?
I think of myself more as a maker of whites, but I spend more time making reds! Just like a politician ends up spending more time with the people who don’t vote for him than with the people who do.
Your favourite grape variety?
Savagnin, the Jura’s iconic grape variety, or Poulsard – but specifically for natural wines.
Your favourite wine?
La Tour de Curon, as it’s a parcel which is a good reflection of our history. We took it over in the early 2000s. Nobody wanted it, and we replanted the whole thing in the old-fashioned way, using massal selection and with horse-drawn ploughs. For Bénédicte and me, it is almost like a fourth child.
Your favourite vintage?
1999, which was a turning-point for us, both in terms of quality and winemaking technique.
If your wine was a person, who would it look like?
As for any wine, it should look like the person who made it.
What are the best circumstances in which to taste your wines?
Always slightly aired, as I work a lot on reduction. It is vital to take one’s time when drinking them and to allow them to age.
Have you ever thought about chemically enhancing yourself, or your wines?
I did do it to my wines at the beginning of my career, then I was the first to stop chaptalisation, and I haven’t looked back since then.
Who is your most feared opponent?
The French system, which keeps us from creating wines due to the huge amount of administrative pressure it places on us. We can’t find workers to pick our grapes, we have constant tax audits, we pay heavy social security contributions, we have to deal with anti-fraud regulation, et cetera. It is a heavy burden to bear.
And the competition that you dread the most?
In damper years, disease control is the most stressful thing. I spend my winter months in the cellar, my summer months amongst the vines – that’s the rhythm that I like, but we’re constantly playing with fire.
What is your greatest trophy?
My children.
What has been your most innovative strategy in the vineyard and in the cellar?
I have a restaurant owner friend, who carried out research into the right side of the brain – the creative side. I think my tactic has always been to follow my instinct.
Who would be your ideal successor on the podium?
I’d rather not say, as I don’t want to put any pressure on them.