The Great Unknown Jura Vigneron
A Baudelaire in Maynal
"Who has not known you, O deep joys of wine? Whoever has had some remorse to appease, a memory to evoke, a sorrow to drown, a castle to build in Spain, in fact all men have invoked you, mysterious god concealed in the tendrils of the vine.” Charles Baudelaire from Artificial Paradises.
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I was in Paris at “Lot of Wine,” pointing to a Jura bottle on the shelves I’d never seen. And the maker? Claude Buchot? I never heard of him. The label was old-guard and stern, sans sulfite and had organic certification. How could it be that someone working naturally in the Jura for all these years was virtually unknown? How was it that it was priced modestly at 30 euros? An organic, no sulfur natural wine?
I picked up the Cuvée Charles Baudelaire, named after who I would learn was Claude’s literary hero. This, a blend called ‘Tradition” had 30% savagnin and 80% chardonnay. Exuberant, brilliant, oxidative, and alive, a lovely tribute to the writer and poet.
The late wine importer, Joe Dressner