Jourdan to Thomas Jefferson, 16 July 1805
From Jourdan
A tain dept de la drome Ce 16e juillet 1805
Monsieur Le president
Jai Eu Lhonneur de fournir a Votre Excelence de mes Vins Blancs de L’hermitage par Lentremise que Mr Cathalan Le jeune de marseille quil ma tres exactement paiés. Sur La Liste des Noms des proprietaires qu’il m’envoya je me trouvai avoir dans mes Caves du Vin du Sr deloche Beaufrere de notre maitre de poste je Cru que Vous aviés goute de Cette Cuvée lors de Votre passage icy ce qui me decida a remplir Votre premier ordre de Cette Cuvée j’y joignit seulement 2 Blles de mon propre Crü qui vous a plus satisfait que Celui de deloche. Ce qui ma decide d’appres L’ordre de Mr Cathalan de Composer Le dernier envois tout de mon Crü jaurai Lhonneur de Vous ajouter que je suis et serai toujours Garant a tous Cœux aux quels j’envoie de mes Vins en Bouteilles et si l’on n’en etoit pas Satisfaits j’offre den rembourser le montant qui m’auroit ete paié, ou de remplacer les Vins par d’autres. il ma parut que la Liste qui Vous fut donnée icy n’est point fidelle puisque on n’y a pas Compris Cœux qui recoltent les melieurs Vins Blancs de Lhermitage tels que Mr de pignieu Bergier, et Votre Serviteur qui a luy seul recolte plus de Vins Blancs que tous les proprietaires ensemble. outre mon propre Cru je suis oblige d’acheter la majeure partie des plus distingues parce que je fournit la plus part des princes d’allemagne et Beaucoup de Lords, et ministres en angleterre
jai mit une Couple de Bouteilles dans le dernier envois de Mes Vins Blancs de paille de L’hermitage pour Vous les faire gouter il ne faudra pas juger du merite de Cette sorte de Vins par Celui la qui est de la recolte 1799 qui fut des plus mauvaises mais les subsequantes sont d’une tres excelente qualite les derniers envois que jen ai fait Cet hiver a Vienne, et a Londres ont Ete trouvés Delicieux je suis le seul icy qui fasse de ce vin apprès avoir recolte les raisins Mùrs il faut les exposer Chaque jour au soleil pendant un mois ou deux. Voila Comment on fait Ce vin
Votre excelence peut etre assurèe que tous les ordres quelle me fera passer par la Voye de Mr Cathalan, ou autres agents seronts remplis avec scrupule et attention
Jai Lhonneur detre avec Respet. Monsieur le president Votre tres humble et tres obeisant serviteur
Jourdan
Editors’ Translation
Tain, Drôme, 16 July 1805
Mister President,
I had the honor of sending my Hermitage white wine to your excellency through the intermediary of Mr. Cathalan the younger of Marseilles, who gave me exact remittance. On the growers’ list he sent me, I found that my cellars contain wine from Mr. de Loche, the brother-in-law of our postmaster. Thinking you had tasted this vintage while you were here, I decided to fill your first order with this one and to include only two bottles of my own vintage. Since you prefer mine to de Loche’s, I will complete Mr. Cathalan’s order with my own vintage in the final shipment. I have the honor of adding that I will always assure everyone to whom I send my wine that if they are not satisfied I will reimburse their purchase or replace the wine with others. I believe the list you were given here is not accurate, since it does not include the producers of the best Hermitage white wines, such as Mr. de Pignieu Bergier and myself. I alone produce more white wine than all the other houses combined. In addition to my own vintage, I am obliged to buy most of the best vintages because I furnish nearly all the German princes and many British lords and ministers.
In the last shipment, I included a couple of bottles of my Hermitage straw wine for you to taste. You should not judge the quality of this type of wine from this bottling, which is the 1799 vintage—one of the worst. Judge instead by later ones, which are excellent. The ones I sent to Vienna and London this winter were judged to be delicious. I am the only one to produce this kind of wine here. After the ripe grapes are harvested, they have to be exposed to sunlight every day for a month or two. That is how straw wine is made.
Your excellency can be sure that all orders you send me through Mr. Cathalan or other agents will be filled scrupulously and attentively.
With respect, Mister President, I have the honor of being your very humble and obedient servant.
Jourdan
RC (DLC); addressed: “A Son Excelence Monsieur thoms jefferson president Des etats unis D’amerique A Wasington”; postmarked Norfolk, Va., 30 Nov.; endorsed by TJ as received 6 Dec. and so recorded in SJL, but as received 5 Dec.
Jourdan was the surname of a family of merchants and wine cultivators who had been operating in the Rhône valley since the revolution. Charles Jourdan (d. 1816) was the head of the family and may have been TJ’s correspondent. Two of his sons, Louis Antoine Jourdan and Charles Prosper Jourdan, were locally prominent and may have written to TJ here or in subsequent correspondence, which was signed by the firm Jourdan et fils (John Livingstone-Learmonth, The Wines of the Northern Rhône [Berkeley, Calif., 2005], 238; Gueymar-Dupalais, ed., Annuaire du département de la Drome, pour l’an xiv [Valence, 1805], 128, 133; Bulletin de la société [départementale] d’archéologie et de statistique de la Drome, 41 [1907], 71; , 9:470; Jourdan et Fils to TJ, 26 Sep. 1806).
proprietaires: when first trying to obtain white Hermitage wine from Stephen Cathalan, Jr., TJ supplied the names of vintners in the Tain-Hermitage area whose wine he sampled while in France (Vol. 39:469, 471).