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Drinking this bottle of Trousseau by winemaker Philippe Bornard from Cotes du Jura was an off the grid experience for me…both in taste and in geography.

Cotes du Jura exists on the fringes of the wine world. And honestly on the fringes of my personal experience with wine producing regions in France. Sitting in the middle of France on the Eastern border, the Cotes du Jura is a study in something new and obscure.

Picture 4Sophie Barrett, one of the wine experts at my local shop, Chambers Street Wines, turned me on to this bottle and Cotes du Jura, and shared some folklore about this local hero, ex rock star turned winemaker on his father’s vineyard in France. Smoky and interesting tales.

Philippe Bornard lives in the village of Pupillin. The vineyards were planted in1969 and in 2005 Philippe stopped selling his grapes and started the vineyard with himself as the winemaker. The soil is limestone and clay. Maceration goes on for three weeks in fiberglass. Once fermentation is finished the wine is transferred to a large oak barrels to age for 12 months before bottling.

Once you suspend disbelief and just drink this bottle of Trousseau, it’s an experience. ‘Le Ginglet’ is French patois for ‘easy to drink’ and that it is. Brilliant. Light. Lively…but with substance and a bit of spice hanging out there. Odd wonderful stuff. Unusual and unlike anything I’ve had before.

Drink this one with a variety of food. The light flavors of the Trousseau are very food friendly.

Check this one out if you can find it. You’ll appreciate the uniqueness of it for certain. You can decide whether it suits your palate.

Around $25 @ Chambers Street Wines in TriBeCa, NYC. They ship so order online if you’re interested.