Description
Jean-Luc Mouillard, Côtes du Jura Pinot Noir
Want to get a sommelier excited? Just say the word “Jura” and watch their eyes dilate as they daydream about delicious wild red blends and the always peculiar, forever-rarefied vin jaune. Today though, with Jean-Luc Mouillard’s Côtes du Jura Pinot Noir, we offer a whole new reason to swoon over this special place, especially for those firmly entrenched in Burgundy’s camp.
Imbued with Chambolle-esque floral charm, dripping with sleek, highly polished red fruit à la Sonoma Coast, and studded with Jura’s expressive minerality, this Pinot is both deeply serious and profoundly pleasurable. Burgundy icons like Guillaume d’Angerville and David Croix have chosen the Jura as the next frontier for their pursuit of Pinot Noir perfection, and a single sip of Mouillard makes it clear why. The only downside to a wine like this is that we all know it’ll soon be an endangered species; the world is catching onto the magic of Jura’s top reds and it’s only a matter of time before bottles like this start competing with the prices of village-level Burgundy. Take advantage of it!
Despite the ever-increasing attention paid to it, the Jura remains a place where winemakers are farmers first and foremost. That’s true of Jean-Luc Mouillard, who grew up on his family’s mixed farm of dairy cows and vineyards. While his family’s crop was always sold off to the co-op, Jean-Luc knew he wanted to be a winemaker. He graduated from enology school in 1991 and immediately rented and planted parcels to supplement the family vines. Now, he farms around 10 hectares, joined in the enterprise by his wife and son. Farming, of course, remains his focus: he abandoned chemical pesticides and herbicides years ago and is on track to receive his official organic certification this year.
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While it’s a darling region for sommeliers and aficionados, the Jura remains largely unknown to the wider public. It’s a semi-Alpine place where some internationally famous varieties—Pinot Noir and Chardonnay—grow happily alongside regional specialties like Savagnin, Trousseau, and Poulsard. It’s no surprise there’s so much attention on the Burgundian varieties grown here: as the climate warms, Burgundy’s harvests have crept up earlier and earlier each year. The Jura vineyards, though, are essentially the foothills of the Jura Mountains to the east and as a result, the growing season here is cooler and longer. In the past, the wines were more rustic and lean, but with ever-warmer weather, they are naturally transforming into purer, sleeker styles. Case in point: Mouillard’s breathtaking Pinot Noir.
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The 2020 Pinot from Jean-Luc comes from two parcels totaling a single hectare on a mixture of clay marls and limestone. Aged in mostly neutral French barrels, it’s a gloriously transparent look into this singular region. It pours bright ruby with hints of pink—its pale color belying the seriousness and impact contained within. Notes of crushed Bing cherry, red raspberry, redcurrant, fresh strawberries, rose petals, plum skin, fresh potting soil, cinnamon, shaved nutmeg, and mushroomy earth make for a nose reminiscent of Volnay or Chambolle. The palate is plush and vibrant, leaning into riper red fruits buttressed by fine veins of acidity, minerality, and fine tannin. It’s beautifully unadorned, serious and jam-packed with pleasure, and an absolute steal at this price. Stock up!
