2022 Ashes to Ashes

Les Valseuses embodies exactly the kind of project we love to work with: personal, uncompromising and driven by pure curiosity. Julia Naar and Antoine Le Court are at the helm, who craft their juicy and aromatic wines brimming with energy and drinkability. The expression is free and vibrant, yet at the same time refined and highly expressive.

The story begins in Brazil, where Julia and Antoine met in 2018. Antoine was already working as a winemaker, while Julia came from outside the wine world. Together they moved to the Jura and settled in a beautiful old house from 1765 in Planches-près-Arbois, which has since become the setting for both their lives and their wines.

The couple have planted their first vineyards in the area and also work closely with a circle of growers – primarily in Alsace, Jura and Southern France – who all farm with great respect for the land and biodiversity, and who are, not least, friends of Julia and Antoine. This approach gives them the freedom to work with different grapes and terroirs, while the distinctive style of Les Valseuses remains clearly recognizable.

In the cellar, Antoine works with extreme care and an almost fundamentalist natural approach, entirely without additions and with complete trust in the quality of the fruit. The wines are made in the old, deep cellar of the house – and having replaced sulphur with time – they rest as long as needed to find their balance and stability. Many of the wines are named after songs, and the name Les Valseuses means “the dancers”, because movement – both for the grapes and for the couple themselves – lies at the heart of the entire project. It is a rare and deeply personal endeavor where it all comes together.