2019 Les Vignasses - Poulsard

François Rousset-Martin lives a quiet life in Nevy-sur-Seille, where he has produced wines of an unprecedented high quality from the family vineyards of Château-Chalon and Côtes du Jura since 2007. Although François is trained as both a microbiologist and an oenologist, his work is primarily characterized by intuition, a great deal of patience and an enormous respect for the terroir he oversees. More than anything else François is preoccupied with spreading knowledge about the history, the traditions and the terroir of the Château-Chalon and the surrounding appellations.

But while most producers in this area adhere to the traditional style of oxidative wines made from Savagnin, François Rousset-Martin explores the terroir by producing a wide range of both oxidative and non-oxidative wines from Chardonnay and Savagnin. The reds are juicy yet deep and complex and in perfect interplay between the traditional and the new Jura.

The vineyards are cultivated extremely thoroughly, and the cellar work is characterized by a general skepticism towards any kind of modern material or oenological shenanigans. Cultured yeast, fining, filtration and the addition of sulphur are completely avoided, and the result of François’ efforts is an impressive range of wines with immense precision and freshness that shows the huge potential of Château-Chalon and not just for the oxidative wines.