Family in the Jura: Domaine Pierre Richard

7/11/21 -

I was contemplating a single sentence newsletter for today’s offer: “Sub-$30 Trousseau and Poulsard from the Jura’s Domaine Pierre Richard!” What else do you need to know? That both were bottled without added SO2? That the Richard family started cultivating vines in the commune of Le Vernois in 1919? That the estate is in official organic conversion with Ecocert, which they’ll achieve fully with the 2021 vintage? How about that the wines are incredibly tasty and not at all volatile? It became obvious that the email needed to be a little bit longer than eleven words (or twelve words, if you count ‘Sub-$30’ as two).

The wine world has been starving for affordable bottles from the Jura. If the story behind the estate wasn’t so rich and if the wines weren’t so tasty, I could have left the details out. Simply announcing the bargain might have been enough to sell the limited stock that we were able to snag from our supplier, but alas, there is too much good stuff here to just keep it all to myself.

In the glass, the Domaine Pierre Richard 2019 Trousseau is a wonderful, clear ruby with shades of purple. Those nose is especially savory, with a medley of red berries, fresh red flowers, and a hint of smoky ash. The palate is driven by a clean vein of dark minerality at the core of generous black cherry fruit. Structurally, acid is appropriately high, tannin is light, and drinkability is off the charts. I would definitely not describe this as “glou-glou,” as it's too elegant and warm in flavor to be, but I would describe it as “dangerously easy to consum0e very, very quickly.”

The Poulsard 2019 from Domaine Pierre Richard has a gorgeous color, showing a clear hue of vibrant mahogany. The nose is more fragrant and layered than the Trousseau, with a depth of salinity combined with plush red fruits and healthy, dark roses. On the palate, the wine delivers plummy stone fruit, black cherry, and crushed dark stones. Soft tannin and medium acidity, but given time to breathe, a plumpness grows and the mouthfeel becomes incredibly satisfying, like the curved edges and simple weight of a lighter but well-formed Pinot Noir.

According to the producer’s website, Xavier Richard tended vines as early as 1919 on property in Le Vernois, but it wasn’t until after World War II, when his son Jean took over, that the family began to focus specifically on winegrowing, leaving behind a long period of polycultural farming. Local success was speedily gained, and by 1976, Jean’s son Pierre replaced his father and bolstered the estate’s holdings by acquiring a hilltop for vines in nearby Mantry. Today, Domaine Pierre Richard totals 9 hectares between three communes in the Jura. Pierre’s son Vincent, who studied wine and worked throughout France before coming home in 2009, is now in control of the family business, and with his wife, Emmanuelle, is the force behind the estate’s drive towards organic certification.

You might buy today's offer because of its excellent price-point, but now you know you’re also getting very real wines. The evolution of the Richard family in the Jura continues along with their farming methods and the products they produce, and I’m incredibly excited to see what might come next.

-David Hatzopoulos