DOMAINE ROLET ARBOIS TROUSSEAU

Description

To those of you who have never heard of the region of Jura, welcome to the pearly gates of wine geekery. Located to the east of Burgundy nice and close to the border with Switzerland, this region, likewise to Burgundy, is famous for its limestone based soils yielding some of the most elegant and fragrant wines in the country. While they do grow some excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay like their more famous westerly cousins, what makes Jura so interesting is all the other grapes that they grow. Chief among them, a white varietal known as Savagnin (and Sauvignon Vert, and Traminer). If Savagnin sounds similar to Sauvignon Blanc, it’s because it is actually one of the parent varietals of that very grape. It is also one of the parent varietals of Chenin Blanc, and most importantly for this product, a red grape known as Trousseau. 

Trousseau definitely bears a lot of similarity to Burgundian Pinot Noir. Lots of notes of decaying leaves in autumn, tobacco leaf, baking spices, a myriad of tart red fruit notes, and so on. If anything, Trousseau is often a touch lighter. This particular one is from the sub-region of Arbois, which is Jura’s most prolific region for reds. It was also among the original 6 appellations to gain AOC status in 1936 under the current system. 

After full destemming, it is macerated for just a few days before being fermented in stainless for around three weeks. It is then matured for 9 months, split between stainless tanks and oak foudre (a gigantic barrel that will not give oak flavours, but allows the wine to “breathe” during maturation). Domaine Rolet has already done all the in-bottle ageing for you, so drink now and enjoy.