12/6/25 - 

Featuring Overnoy-Crinquand, La Loue, Stéphane Tissot, Ratte, Touraize, Bottes Rouges, Les Mathenys, L'Aigle à Deux Têtes, and La Bohème

Today's offer was spurred by the realization that we didn't have enough Jura on the shelf. Our business is primarily online, an aftereffect of Covid and the neighborhood of Tribeca changing drastically since the pandemic, so most of the requests we receive for wines are by email. As we reach the end of the year, however, we typically experience an uptick in good old fashioned walk-in business, often from friends in the industry or folks who are in town for the holidays and miss browsing at Chambers Street. Wines from the Jura were being requested and we found ourselves lacking in that department, so we reached out to our importer friends, tasted as much as we could and put together what we consider a pretty thorough selection of Jura wines! Timing couldn't have been better as new wines from Stéphane Tissot just arrived days ago, in time to make it into the mix. Many of the wines offered today are classics at Chambers Street Wines, staples of our selection, others are new to us and potentially to you too, dear reader. 
 
Everything was primed for this weekend's email and then we received word that a new drop from Patrick Bouju and Justine Loiseau (pictured above) of Domaine La Bohème had arrived! What's better than an email with hip Jura wines? An email with hip Jura wines and even hipper Auvergne wines! All the rage in the natural wine scene of Paris (one scene that New York City takes cues from), wines of the Auvergne are hard to find in the states, and are fascinating in many ways, thanks to unique soil types and volcanic terroirs, and the local Gamay D'Auvergne grape (distinct from Gamay de Beaujolais or other, more common Gamay varieties). Bouju and Loiseau have been on a role in recent years, producing wines that are vibrant and balanced, using neutral barrels, stainless steel and amphoras to let the grapes and the terroir speak through the wines. 

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For the Jura offerings, you'll find a little something for everyone. A Chambers Street staple, and hard-to-beat deal for Jura Poulsard, the Overnoy-Crinquand 2022 Ploussard is always a great choice. We were digging the 2020 that we sold out of a few months ago, and the 2022 vintage is just as good, if not even better! 
 
Not available in the states for some time, the wines from Domaine La Loue are back on the shelf! Winemaker Catherine Hannoun eschewed her career in film to begin her journey to producing some truly wonderful wines after learning the art of natural wine making from Arbois mavericks, Pierre Overnoy and Manu Houillon. She started her own micro-estate in Arbois around 2010, starting with just 0.8 hectares of vines, and eventually expanding to a very modest 3.2 hectares, practicing Biodynamics from the beginning. Her 'Le Rouge' Trousseau blend (95% Trousseau/5% Local varieties) is energetic and true to the cépage, and the Pinot Noir 'La Brute' is not to be missed for Jura fans and Pinot fans alike. 
 
Needing no introduction, Stéphane Tissot's wines are back in rotation. We've focused on three wines, the delicious and seriously special Cremant du Jura, the nostalgic red blend, 'DD,' which is singing in the 2023 vintage, and the rare and exquisite Chardonnay Rose Massale Selection. As explained by Stéphane's NY importer, Camille Riviere, "in 2005 Stéphane identified 40 vines of Chardonnay Rose in one of his parcels (an aromatic Chardonnay with pink skins) and decided to plant a selection massale across different parcels; .85ha in total. They are planted in his very best vineyards: Curon & Les Graviers (Bajocien limestone), La Mailloche (marl from Lias) & Les Bruyères (marl from Trias). This cuvée highlights the specificity of Chardonnay Rose on the diverse soils of the Jura. The first vintage released was 2015. The Arbois region is about 60% clay (gives acidity while highlighting bitterness) & 40% limestone (gives a salty/mineral profile)." 
 
Domaine Ratte is back in action! The Ratte’s are not new to winemaking. Michel-Henri and Francoise Ratte got some of their first vines from Françoise’s parents (along with purchasing some of their own in 1989), and now they’re working nine hectares with Biodynamic methods under Demeter certification. They proudly focus on their seven different sites, all around the village of Arbois, exhibiting the benefits of various soil types and vineyard positions. The wines show incredible freshness and purity of fruit, especially the 2022 Savagnin 'Naturé.' Some of the grapes that are used in this come from vines over 100 years old, planted by Françoise’s great-grandfather! The Trousseau 'Les Corvées' is also not to be missed, from a very well-regarded site in Arbois that Tissot also has plots in. 
 
Sold on and off at Chambers Street, we have brought in two wines from Domaine de la Touraize that were drinking beautifully when tasted recently. The Morin family has been making wine in Arbois for several hundred years, the majority of which were spent as part of the co-op in the area. In 2009, they sold some of their vineyards and left the co-op behind, creating the Domaine de la Touraize. Farming is organic, with only sulfur and copper used in the vineyards, and no pesticides or herbicides. Fermentation is always with indigenous yeast, and no sulfur is added during fermentation or aging, with only a small amount added at the bottling. The 2022 Chardonnay 'Les Voisines,' and 2022 Trousseau 'Les Corvées' are featured today. 
 
Jean-Baptiste Menigoz, a former school teacher, started Domaine Bottes Rouges with 2.4ha of vines in Abergement-le-Petit, west of Arbois, in 2012. Focusing on the classic varietals of the Jura, he makes honest, natural wines in the traditional ways of the region. His 2022 Chardonnay 'Leon' was a standout from a recent tasting. It's expressive and textural, with a strong mineral component underneath perfectly ripened orchard fruit. There's great interplay between the brisk acidity and mineral depth, a wine that could age another ten years easily but is still supremely enjoyable now. 
 
New to Chambers Street are the wines from Emeric Foleat at Vignerons Les Matheny. As their US importer Rosenthal Selections notes: "Having worked for eight years under the legendary Jacques Puffeney, who taught him the ultimate value in embracing risk and trusting the quality of his fruit, Emeric farms 3 hectares in Arbois without the use of synthetic chemicals and raises his wines in a small cinderblock shed devoid of modern gadgetry. Emeric takes each harvest as it comes, vinifying and aging certain parcels separately if the notion strikes him, keeping a cask or two under voile for an extra-long time if the underlying material proves worthy, and topping up his barrels occasionally, partially, and based purely on taste and instinct. Minute additions of sulfur, and even then only sometimes, are the only adjustments he makes to his bold, assertive, deeply personal creations." We're featuring two favorites from a recent tasting, the 2018 Arbois Chardonnay Vieilles Vignes and the 2020 Arbois Trousseau.
 
Another new producer to Chambers Street, we're excited to share two wines from Henri Le Roy of Domaine L’Aigle à Deux Têtes. As their US importer De Maison writes: "While studying in Beaune in 2004 (his first vintage was 2005), Henri purchased just a few scattered parcels in the Jura, surrounding the famed slopes of Rotalier and Grusse. Soon after a fortuitous meeting with Jean-Francois Ganevat, Henri was assured of his path toward non-oxidative (ouillé) winemaking. Henri christened his fledgling estate Domaine  L’Aigle à Deux Têtes, a tribute to the Habsburg crest that once guarded this frontier of the Jura from the 16th to the 18th century. Le Roy farms a mere 3.5 hectares on the famed limestone‑rich white and grey-blue marls that impart a firm, saline edge to his plantings of Chardonnay, Savagnin (locally called Naturé), Poulsard, Pinot Noir, Trousseau and the incredibly rare Muscaté Blanc, of which he makes a singular bottling. Henri’s signature parcels include Derrier la Roche (chardonnay planted on prized blue marl), Vernambaud (chardonnay and Pinot Noir), and Le Clous (Poulsard and Savagnin)." We've selected the Poulsard Le Clous and Savagnin Le Clous for today's offer. Both were varietally spot-on, with lovely aromatics and impressively long, complex finishes. We're impressed so far and hope you will be too!

-Eben Lillie

La Vie est Belle! (Cheers from Eben Lillie and Stéphane Tissot)

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