Valentin Morel Cotes du Jura Savagnin Bois d'Arnaux Maceration 2019

A blend of 1/3 Savagnin Rosé and 2/3 Savagnin Jaune from a single vineyard

organic

jura, France

Bois d'Arnaux, planted with 60 acres of Savagnin vines. The soil for this site is Iris marl from Jurassic epoch - the oldest terrior found in the Jura dating back 250 million years. The grapes are hand harvested and undergo a one-month maceration in whole clusters with native yeasts. Fermentation is followed by two years in demi-muids of 220, 500 and 600L. Just before bottling in July 2020 the wines are blended and racked into tank. Unfiltered / No added sulphites.

Just a few years after earning a Master's degree in international law, Valentin Morel decided he would prefer making wines inspired by his readings of biodynamic visionary Rudolph Steiner. Valentin studied winemaking in Alsace, where he was introduced and influenced by natural winemakers like Pierre Frick and Bruno Schueller. In 2014 Valentin joined the family domaine. Valentin’s grandfather operated a sawmill in Poligny, one of the traditional “metiers” in this forested region. After retirement in 1978, he decided to plant 10 hectares of vineyards with his son Jean-Luc. From 1978 to 1985, they sold off grapes to the local co-op, and in 1985 they began bottling their own wines. Jean-Luc had long involved with the local “Confederation Paysan”, and in 1999 stopped using herbicide and began plowing all of the vineyards. This literally laid the groundwork for the conversion to biodynamic agriculture when Valentin joined the domaine and produced his first vintage in 2014. Additionally, inspired by the teachings of Masanobu Fukuoka, Valentin took one step further and began an ambitious project to eliminate plowing, and rely solely on complementary cover crops planted amongst the vines to establish a healthy ecosystem in his terroir. All of the wines are produced with natural yeast and bottled with either zero or minimal sulfur (1-2g at bottling)