Uva Arbosiana Ploussard Domaine de la Tournelle 2018

The Ploussard made from an indigenous variety of the same name is Pinot Noir in character but with a more rustic and savoury bent. The fruit is grown on Jurassic marls and yields are very low at 40 hectolitres per hectare. The wine is then fermented using carbonic maceration (like Beaujolais) and refined for a short period in large ‘foudre’ barrels. No sulphur is added to the wine at any stage and so it retains its wild, slightly yeasty character from fermentation along with prickly red fruits and notes of the forrest. Delicious natural wine for the type of hearty food you get in the mountains of France based on cheese, potatoes, bacon and charcuterie.

Evelyne and Pascal Clairet own 7 hectares in the region around Arbois, the famous wine growing capital of the Jura.

They farm biodynamically and follow Maria Thun's calender in all their operations. They use no sulphur at bottling, but sometimes add 2 or 3 grams per litre earlier in the wine making. Unlike many Jura producers, they are looking to avoid oxygen in most of their wines to keep the freshness of the fruit. Their wines are a combination of golden Chardonnay fruit and Jura minerals. They are linear and precise and have the most incredible texture of any Chardonnay we have tasted. Top Burgundy wines sell for incredible prices but in terms of quality, complexity and sheer pleasure in drinking, I have not come across many Chardonnay that rival the wines of Domaine de la Tournelle. Their Savagnin is also of outstanding quality, and they make some fascinating and unique reds.