I love the wines of the Jura…

The natural crispness, the delicate earthiness and the elongated bouquets are the unforgettable taste footprint of this tiny and obscure wine region in the foothills of the Alps on the eastern border of France.

This taste of place bridges the indigenous red varietals of Poulsard (like the Les Chais du Vieux tasted here), Trousseau and the field blends. Each vineyard in the Jura inherits it’s own unique micro-terroir. Each is noticeably individual but naturally stamped with the sleeping expectation of an unforgettable taste experience.

The reds from the Jura, lightly chilled, are natural wines of summer.

I’ve tasted many wines from all over the Jura and have yet to be disappointed. This bottle of Poulsard from the winemaking couple of Ludwig Bindernagel and Nathalie Eigenschenck is no exception. It’s a find.

Ludwig, a Bavarian by birth, and Nathalie, a Frenchwomen from Paris are newcomers to the wine world. They started their vineyard, Les Chais du Vieux Bourg, in 2000 with the first vintage in 2002. To my knowledge they have no previous heritage as vignerons nor formal education as winemakers.

But Ludwig and Nathalie have something else–palpable passion for the land and the grape, and a rigorous dedication to a non-interventionist and natural approach to wine making. From what I can taste, this is more than enough.

Their tiny organic vineyard of 2.5 hectares is in Arlay in the center of the Jura. The vines are 50-60 years old; the soil all marl and limestone. They produce only 1500 bottles yearly.

Ludwig, like many natural winemakers, believes that ‘wine is made in the vineyard’. No insecticides or chemical fertilizers nor machinery is used. Demeter biodynamic certification is in process.

The Poulsard’s are produced with no added sulfites.

Information about this wine making couple is scarce. You now know what I do.

But…I do know what I tasted in the ’07 Les Chais du Vieux Bourg Poulsard. And it is representative of the best of the Poulsards I’ve drunk from the Jura.

In the glass, there is an overt tanginess of cherry fruit that quite overwhelms even in the bouquet. You smell the taste before you sip it and it leaves a refreshing, aromatic and clean sensation that extends from the first sniff to the end of a long finish. This wine has its own fingerprint that is as familiar as it is pleasurable.

To place it in context with other great Poulsards from the Jura:

Ludwick’s Cotes du Jura Poulsard is pale and quiet in color in the glass, not dissimilar to the ethereal Domaine de la Tournelle ’04 Ploussard de Monteiller from Evelyn and Pascal Clairet. But this bottle is tangier and less delicate and more fruit forward.

Ludwig’s Poulsard is also less mineral and rich than the ’06 Poulsard “M” from the master winemaker, the ‘Pope of Arbois’, Jacque Puffeney.

But friendly and appoachable and just plain quaffable, like one of my favorites, the ‘08 Arbois Poulsard Old Vines from StephaneTissot.

It’s always difficult to suggest that you drink this Poulsard over another when the field is so superb. But after sharing a few bottles of the Chais de Vieux with both wine geeks and just casual wine lovers, I’m comfortable recommending this bottle as representative of the Poulsard grape and the Jura in general.

Try the ’07 with its soft acidity and delicate tannins over the more recent ’08, which was still well worth drinking but slightly less bright and still a bit tight to drink today.

The Chais de Vieux Poulsard is a perfect spring and summer rooftop wine. With or without food. Low in alcohol at 11.7% this is a no worry, satisfaction guaranteed bottle to share with friends.

Serve just slightly chilled. And don’t buy just one bottle as I guarantee it won’t be enough.

The ’07 is getting a bit hard to find but worth the search. Average price is around $27 a bottle. Check online at Chambers Street Wines in TriBeCa to see if there are any in stock.

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Note that I await impatiently the detailed and personal notes from Sophie Barrett, Arbois maven from Chambers Street Wines who recently visited the Jura and stayed with Nathalie and Ludwig. I’ll share them when they are out.