"The charm of the Jura and its wines come from the sense that time has grown genuinely mossy and amnesiac here. Small vineyards, old vines, curious grape varieties seen and tasted nowhere else, vinification methods that would be regarded as obtuse or mad by the oenological conformists who pass judgment at international wine shows. If you are one of those people who long to escape from the shallowness and tedium of wine fashion, then the Jura is for you." Andrew Jefford, The New France

France's Jura is truly one of the final frontiers of wine. You may be 50 miles east of the Cote d'Or, the beating heart of Burgundy (near the border with Switzerland), but you might as well be in a galaxy far, far away from modern wine tastes. If today a handful of grapes hold nearly despotic sway over people's palates and the world's wine styles all seem to be marching, lemming like, off a cliff into some homogeneous ocean where everything looks and tastes the same, well, the wines of the Jura are absurd and eccentric, unique and invigorating and extraordinary values in the context of the long-lived complex wines that they are.

We’re over a decade into the third millennium, and Jean-François Ganevat is reputed to have no computer. He fulfills orders for his 40-50 different wines (40-50!) by fax machine. And he gets back to people when he wants. We speak from experience:

We had our importer fax some questions over to Jean-François on November 4th. We received an answer from him March 27th.

Vin Jaune flies in the face of viticultural orthodoxy.

It is a rebel, a wine that somehow miraculously weathers the slings and arrows of time to gain a depth and complexity that makes it unlike any other wine on Earth. Though the most obvious comparison is with Spain's oxidized Sherry, Vin Jaune is denser and more robust, and it also has a strong tail of acidity that Sherry simply does not.

When it comes to Jura Chardonnays in an oxidative style, Camille Loye has supplied me with my most memorable bottles.

And that's by a long shot.

The long-retired Camille Loye is one of the legendary old-school growers of the Jura. Today, he's over ninety years old and, thankfully, he has a library of older vintages that he releases when they're ready to drink.

For Loye, standard practice was to release vintages when they were at peak maturity.  Today, we're the benefactors of this old-school practice with two perfectly stored older vintages.

Even now, with Loye's number retired and the absolute quantities of his wines declining every day, the prices are still very fair. Both bottlings, from two top vintages, are under $60. For any devotee of the Jura - these are beautiful time capsules from a very special place.

Ganevat is an intense, uncompromising personality - it shows in the wines. I can't remember the last time that I've seen wines from an obscure region like the Jura capture the interest of long-time Burgundy collectors along with wine geeks in the way Ganevat has.

You should be both alarmed and invigorated by the fact that the bottle(s) Joe and I picked as our "Wines of the Year" are unquestionably some of the strangest, most curious and unforgettable wines you will ever put in your mouth, period.

No, you probably didn't see this coming but our 2008 picks for the best of the best are the 2004 and 2005 Jean Macle Cotes du Jura! (We couldn't decide between one vintage or the other, so we picked both. Complete notes on each bottle below.)

How's this for a tasting note: Lemon pith, green apple skin, bright marmalade, orange rind, mushrooms, fresh green moss and pine needles, moist dark earth, pulverized cooking spices and a complex mountain stream medley of rocks, stones and pebbles all energized by a blow-horn-like citrus acidity that will send shivers down your spine and electrical pulses across your palate. (As wild as these wines are, they are *made* for food, check out this recipe.)

Macle's Extraordinary 02 Chateau Chalon
"One of those wines that seems to riffle through a repertoire of the natural worlds as you sniff and sip."
Andrew Jefford, The New France

A wine that we strongly endorse ...
...and that requires a serious warning!

This week, we're on the geek wine freight train, plowing from one eccentric superstar to the next. Yesterday, the impossible-to-find Beaujolais of Yvon Metras, the long-absent member of Kermit Lynch's "Gang of Four."

Today's stop is at the stony door of the grand wiseman of Chateau Chalon, Jean Macle for his best, and most challenging offering.

The Wiseman of the Jura
2006 Macle Côtes du Jura
Avoiding the Whims of Wine Fashion, Beautifully

"[Macle's wines] seem to rifle through a repertoire of the natural world as you sniff and sip."
- Andrew Jefford, The New France

Today we present one of the Jura's true greats.

In our opinion, Macle should be included with the traditional wines of Vatan, Verset, and Trollat; benchmark producers who intuitively produce soulful, subtle, and long lasting wines that seem nearly impossible to replicate.

This is our fourth Macle offering - a past Macle bottling (the 2004 Côtes du Jura) was a "Crush Wine of the Year." That's how strongly we believe in these wines. For those who have never experienced traditional winemaking in the Jura, there is nothing else like it. Today we offer thanks. Thanks that there are wines as challenging and inspiring as Macle's lovely creations. Thankful there is still a strong audience for these wines.

Champagne Method, Jura Personality
Ganevat "Oh!!"
Our Yearly Parcel has Just Arrived
(And will likely soon disappear!)

This is the best damn $25 sparkler we've tasted, hands down.

And as you may know, we're Champagne people... big Champagne people.

Escalating prices in this classic region, however, mean that it's become very hard to find any serious Champagne under $40. The great majority of sub-$30 sparklers have about as much personality as cardboard... sometimes less.