Sometimes it only takes a split second to know you’ve come upon something profound, as was the case when I put my nose in a glass of this exquisite red wine. This was my first experience tasting Jacques Maillet, but it turns out he is to the Savoie what Marcel Lapierre was to Beaujolais, in terms of being considered one of the “Godfathers” of the natural wine movement in France.
Jacques Maillet has a serious underground following in France and his wines are rarely seen in the US. Sadly, this is the last last vintage that will ever carry Maillet’s name (he is retiring), so this wine will not be seen again. You need to try it—trust me.
We’re back once again on the steep hillsides of the Savoie, in the shadow of the Alps near the Swiss border, with a hands-on vigneron who has become an icon to sommeliers and natural wine lovers. Jacques Maillet is a former teacher who began making wines in his mid-thirties, originally learning his craft at a cooperative winery in Chautagne, a village not far from Geneva. He became seriously ill from his contact with the pesticides and other chemical treatments employed in the co-op’s vineyards, and after a lengthy battle/recovery, he returned to wine with a fierce dedication to organic and biodynamic viticulture. He managed to acquire about four hectares of old vines on some steep slopes above the Rhône River—an amount he felt he could manage on his own—and by 2004 his vineyards were Ecocert-certified organic and producing wines that became cult favorites. His original vineyard acquisition was a site co-planted to Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Mondeuse (a dark-fruited specialty of Savoie), and his red blend from the site, called “Autrement” (“some other way,” referencing his resolutely non-chemical farming) is a benchmark red from the Savoie as well as a prime example of ‘natural’ wine done right. Maillet’s 2015 “Autrement” wowed us with its purity, depth, and lifted aromatics. It’s a wine that welcomes a diverse array of drinkers into its tent, channeling cru Beaujolais, Bourgogne Pinot Noir, the Loire, the Southwest…it’ll have you thinking, but more importantly, it’ll have you drinking—with great pleasure and maximum refreshment.
Wine like this can only be made in small quantities, and I’m always a little shocked when we’re able to get a healthy chunk of something like this 2015 “Autrement.” As I tasted this wine, I went through what you might call the Three Stages of Belief: First, I found it to be straightforwardly delicious, aromatic, and full of energy; second, I considered the striking, remote, vertiginous place it comes from, which deepened my appreciation for it; and third, I found the wine to be beautifully pure, ripe, balanced, and fault-free—not a small achievement for a wine that was both grown and vinified without any chemical or ‘commercial’ inputs (i.e. selected yeasts) whatsoever. To be able to bottle a wine with only the tiniest, tracest amount of sulfur added at bottling—as Maillet did here—requires a level of hands-on control over the raw material that larger-scale operations just can’t (or don’t) exercise. If you aren’t working clean through every step of the process, the wine will reflect that. Maillet’s wine tastes as if he examined and hand-polished every grape bunch personally.
As with so many 2015s we’ve tasted, this version of Autrement is ‘bigger’ than past versions, which isn’t to say it’s a full-bodied wine. If you prefer the scale of cru Beaujolais, or the red blends of the Jura, this is right up your alley. Maillet’s two small vineyards are southwest-facing sites of marine sediments and limestone, with pitches ranging from 20% to 50% (!). Most of the vines are more than 40 years old, with some much older, and Maillet keeps yields exceptionally low to ensure good concentration of flavor. I’ve seen varying reports as to the percentages of the component grapes in the blend—it is primarily Pinot Noir and Gamay, with a smaller percentage of the dark, spicy Mondeuse. Given that the different varieties are planted together in the vineyard, I’d assume the percentages change with each vintage. What’s ultimately more important is that the wine have harmony, which it does. Maillet fermented and aged it in vats, and bottled it unfined and unfiltered.
In the glass this 2015 Autrement is an unfiltered ruby-red with magenta highlights at the rim, with aromatics that jump from the glass—it’s like a basket of just-picked berries and wildflowers, with notes of black raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry, violets, crushed stones, and wild herbs. It is medium-bodied and freshly fruity on the palate, and it’s here that a tangier ‘red fruit’ note of pomegranate and wild strawberry pokes through, along with an appealingly savory mineral note. Brightly acidic and low in alcohol, it is an absolute pleasure to drink, and will disappear very quickly with two people (or even one person!) working on it. We’ve featured several wines like this recently—wines we want to have around in quantity for rowdy, food- and wine-fueled outdoor meals. While the wine is soft and accessible right out of the gate, a good rough decanting and about 30 minutes of air is especially important here—because it is effectively un-sulfured, the wine is a touch ‘reduced’ (i.e. oxygen-starved and in need of a little aeration to free up its aromatics). Serve it around cellar temperature (or even cooler) in Burgundy stems with charcuterie or maybe an Alpine classic like raclette. Lots of people think these heavier, cheesier mountain dishes require a massive red to tackle them; I’m of the opposite mind—I want acidity, lighter weight, and palate-cleansing refreshment, whether I’m headed back to the slopes or not. Don’t miss this authentic and delicious red—it’s an energizing glass of wine. Cheers!
