Jura, New and Old
10/11/2024
We can’t help but think of the Jura as the days get cooler. From this tiny region, earthy Vin Jaune and punchy, brandy-enhanced Macvin are two specialties, but it's the dry, fresh ouillé styles of many whites and reds that have brought it increased attention over the last several decades. Today we’re highlighting a few truly dynamic producers, offering wines to suit the chilly months ahead. Our theme is "New and Old" though both producers are new to the shelves of Chambers Street. One is a young estate named Domaine La Patelle, which was started in 2021 and has already impressed us from a recent tasting. The other is a VERY old estate, Chateau D'Arlay, which is in fact the oldest wine-producing chateau in France, with history spanning back to the year 1070 AD. Here we have traditional wines that speak of the region and offer a refreshing look and taste of the Jura that has at times seemed hard to attain, with prices that are, in our opinion, quite reasonable!
Domaine La Patelle is a fairly new name in the Jura landscape, started by Pascal Thereau in 2021. Pascal had already been working in wine as a cooper, sourcing wood and crafting barrels for many years before studying winemaking in Beaune in 2018. He worked alongside Stéphane Tissot, sharpening his skills and even acquiring some of Tissot's parcels in 2022 along with several from Domaine les Bodines. Today the estate is all of about 6ha, spread across several lieu-dits in Arbois. Les Tourillons consists of limestone soils and is planted with Chardonnay and Savagnin, while Les Bodines is mostly clay and limestone and planted with Pinot Noir, Trousseau, Poulsard and Savagnin. Pascal works organically and with minimal intervention in the cellar, much like his mentor Tissot. The wines are clean and precise while retaining an expressive, dynamic quality that instantly made us take notice while tasting recently. The reds are pure and exuberant while his Kiosque Chardonnay is a bit more layered and contemplative–all brimming with energy and personality. This marks just the second vintage of Pascal's wines, but they already show a clear focus and level of attention to detail that make them feel like classic, timeless wines. -Jeff DiLorenzo
While recently tasting Rhone wines from the portfolio of importer Alain Junguenet, we tried a bottle of Savagnin called 'Le Nature' from an estate called Chateau D'Arlay. The nose and the palate were textbook Savagnin for me, and textbook Jura, without any hint of influence from nearby Burgundy. While inspecting the label, I started to laugh at the ridiculously long timeline of the estate, but in the end was left thoroughly impressed. Here was a wine-producing chateau that had operated without interruption for over a thousand years.
Here is a translation of the label pictured above: "Estate of the nobles of Haute Bourgogne since 560 and of the Counts of Chalon-Arlay since 1237, of the Princes of Orange from the 15th Century. Royal vineyard of Spain and England in the 16th and 17th Centuries, of France in the 18th Century. Vines of the joint stock company (SAS) of the Prince A. of Arenberg in the 19th Century and then the Count R.J. de Vogue in the 20th Century."
After tasting their topped-up Savagnin, I knew we had to share this wine and the story of the Chateau, so we planned another tasting and were delighted with their Vin Jaune and the reds as well. One fascinating wine was the ancient 'Corail' style wine - a co-ferment of red and white grapes that was the primary style of wine produced over 100 years ago. As their US importer remarks on their site, this is "one of the last, if not THE last, Jura wineries producing a ‘Corail’ (Coral) style wine from all five Jura varietals (Red: Pinot Noir, Poulsard, Trousseau. White: Savagnin, Chardonnay), Alain will tell you that a century ago the overwhelming majority of wines produced were ‘Corail’ with very few reds and whites to be found." -Eben Lillie
Farming at the estate is organic, with minimal sulfur used in winemaking. Though only recently certified organic, they have operated with respect to nature and the surrounding habitat for many decades and have never used synthetic chemicals in the vineyard.
We're very happy to share these wines with our readers, and encourage any fan of Jura wines to try some of these lovely expressions!
