Despite its many similarities to Burgundy, the Jura region of eastern France—the heart of which is only about an hour by car from Beaune—still manages to dip below the mass consumer radar. We’re going to attempt to change that, chiefly by celebrating bright, effortlessly charming reds like today’s 2014 “Le Rouge a Lulu”—without a doubt one of the most nuanced and intriguing sub-$30 wines ever offered on this site.
This wine feels like an elegant, aged Chambolle-Musigny, but I’m loathe to make the comparison since it retains an identity all its own: Driven by Pinot Noir but incorporating Jura’s local Poulsard and Trousseau varieties, this wine has an energy that pulsates from start to finish. It is elegant, alive, savory, and quite long and lasting despite its delicacy—a feast for the senses all around. For me, the first sip evoked memories of my (brief) visit to the Jura last year; snuggled between Burgundy’s Côte d'Or and the mountainous border of Switzerland, entering the region transports you to centuries past. Verdant hillsides, stone-built towns, towering peaks in the distance; it seems untouched by modernity, which is why the go-to wine philosophy is making wine as naturally as possible. Even after all these years in the wine business, I still marvel at how an artisanal, minuscule-production wine like this, from such a remote place, can end up in my hands in Northern California at such a reasonable price. If the ethereal reds of the Jura are not yet on your radar, today’s the day to change that—you will not be disappointed.
Les Chais du Vieux Bourg—a long-established Jura wine farm now simply known as ‘Lulu Vigneron’—was founded by Ludwig Binfernagel (his friends call him Lulu) and partner Nathalie Eigenschenck. Ludwig was a Parisian architect and studied viticulture during his off-hours, thanks to his obsession with Burgundy. He decided to call it quits and, with he and his wife essentially novices, bought a few acres under vine in the hills of Jura at the turn of the millennium. Their first vintage came two years after, in 2002. With no formal training or winemaking genes on both sides, I find myself scratching my head as to how they mastered a wine that bursts with wild fruit and absolute purity so quickly. Might be something to think about while staying in the quaint B&B they run...According to Jancis Robinson, this was Ludwig’s answer when she met him years back: “I have no merit as a winemaker, I just have some good terroir.”
Ludwig and Nathalie’s original vineyard sits in the heart of Jura, but they have since acquired a couple small sites around the neighboring townships of Poligny, L'Étoile, and
Château-Chalon (the premier AOC for the inimitable
vin jaune made exclusively from the Savagnin grape). Today’s wine, “Le Rouge a Lulu.” is a blend of their vineyard sites (excluding Château-Chalon) from 25 to 55 year-old vines. Their vines are of old rootstock and are buried deep in multiple layers of calcareous marl that is chockful of fossilized oysters (a common sight in the Kimmeridgian soils of Chablis). While Les Chais du Vieux Bourg is not yet certified biodynamic, they treat the process as naturally as possible, performing exhausting pruning and hand-harvesting exceedingly low yields of Pinot Noir, Poulsard, and Trousseau (the blend is 60%, 30%, and 10%, respectively). The grapes see an long, cool, untouched fermentation that can take months, even years, in some vintages. After maturing in a blend of neutral oak and steel tanks, the wine is bottled nearly devoid of sulfites. To my knowledge, production for “Le Rouge a Lulu” has never exceeded 2,000 bottles.
In the glass, “Le Rouge a Lulu” shows a classic Jura color with a light ruby-red center that rushes out to light garnet and slight orange reflections on the rim. Prepare yourself for the aromas, which meld the fruit of an elegant Pinot and the savory perfume of Trousseau and Poulsard: dried strawberry, raspberry, huckleberry, pomegranate, mountain herbs, wet stone, wild flowers, mushrooms, damp forest and freshly cut fern all come in successive waves. On the palate, savory core of fruit and earth is similar to the nose, followed by a long and complex finish begging for a serious meal. The wine has entered its peak drinking window and I recommend consuming over the next 3-4 years. Decanting is optional on this one, but I think pulling the cork an hour beforehand and letting it blossom in a Burgundy stem is the ideal method. Although this wine could pair with countless dishes from duck to rare lamb, an herb-roasted chicken recipe is the first thing that came to my mind for pairing; I would wager a bet that the locals are preparing something equivalent as I write this. Enjoy!
