Producer: Les Bottes Rouges
The first Chardonnay cuvée is Leon. The vines are planted in clay-heavy soils and the grapes are usually harvested at the end of September. Direct press into 3,000L foudre for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation before racking into smaller, 440L neutral oak barrels. Jean-Baptiste concludes that this is an incredibly age-worthy white wine.
The first French AOC in 1936, Arbois is also Jura’s largest appellation. This “fertile land” (“ar” and “bos” in Celtic), in the north of the Jura, produces red, rosé and white wines from five authorized grape varieties (Chardonnay, Savagnin, Pinot Noir, Trousseau and Poulsard). Located around the town of Arbois, the vineyards are spread over 13 communes. Producers in the commune of Pupillin can add this name to the appellation on their label. The red wines vary in intensity depending on the grape varieties and the blend, going from a delicate almost rosé colour to a deeper red. When young they are packed with crunchy red fruit. They age well, evolving notes of spices, undergrowth, humus and mushrooms, or more meaty notes from the Trousseau grape. These wines are always delicate and supple, while also being rounded and well-structured.