Georges Comte

(Doubs, France)

At first glance, Georges Comte’s bottles give off the impression of sterile Burgundies that go for more than an LA apartment’s monthly rent. But ask your favorite somm about Georges’ wines and they probably won’t know what the hell you’re even talking about. Once one gets a taste of these wines, and the layers start to get unpeeled, the project takes on an aura not felt by most other stories in the book of natural wine.

Comte is a complete outsider who works in Doubs, a mostly forgotten micro region nestled between the triangle of Jura, Alsace, and Burgundy, and with a makeup of limestone and clay terroir; that yin and yang mixture that helps Chardonnay really sing. Inspired by his love of Burgundy, he began making wine in 1989, and has never added a thing since. His expressions of the grape are models in the way that most wines that have the potential to be transcendent are as well. In fairy tale manner, working within his native locale, everything from Georges’ farming to his cellar work underneath his house are done as simply and as slowly as possible. To open a bottle of Georges’ at the table with a couple of wine freak friends is to reject the flashy and momentary nature of everything that we currently live in, and to dive into some prismatic rift in time.

This is not some hype and candied Poulsard from a Jura producer that you just read about on Instagram. To even enjoy these wines takes patience, and perhaps that’s too much to ask for these days. But like Comte, I’m not a fan of compromise either, and would much rather spend an evening ruminating over a bottle of profound Doubs Chardonnay than a series of trendy labels one after the other.

Les Pélerins 2004
Chardonnay
$90

Sur Roche Bonive 2009
Chardonnay
$90

Champ de la Pierre 2014
Chardonnay
$78