New Reds from a Jura Fave: Domaine des Carlines

To learn more about this region, consult the goddess of Jura, Wink Lorch, and her epic tome.

I love the wines of the Jura. Intricate, spicy reds that are light in body and ethereal in nature. Textural, complex, high-acid whites, sometimes made in Jura’s idiosyncratic oxidated style, and sometimes in the fresh, “topped off” style—but always kissed by the Jura je ne se quois. And then there’s vin jaune, aged for at least six years under a veil of yeast and a category unto itself. Jura is home to unique varietals and even uniquer winemaking that you won’t find anywhere else. And I’m always happy to welcome a bottle to my dinner table. 

Jura lies somewhat parallel and to the east of Burgundy, with a valley separating the two. Both are home to limestone soils, but Jura also has rare grey and red marls that define the terroir. It lies closer to the Alps, so the climate is colder and more extreme—which is good if you’re a fan of fresh acidity in wines.

Luckily for me and my wallet, we have four Direct Import Jura producers, and that means we have prices that far beat what you’d normally pay for bottles from this region, which tend to be in small production and low circulation. Summer is a beautiful time to drink Jura, and our shelves are well-stocked, spanning the four sub-AOCs: Arbois, Cotes du Jura, L’Etoille, and Château Chalon. So, let’s spend the summer drinking Jura, shall we? On the occasion of their inaugural release of red wines, I’d like to dig into one of our Direct Import producers, Domaine des Carlines.

Domaine des Carlines

Though we’ve carried their whites for years, this is our first taste of reds from Domaine des Carlines, a husband-and-wife team based in the tiny village of Menétru-le-Vignoble in the Château Chalon region. The wines are very special. They are made by Patrick and Sophie, two folks who have been in the wine industry a long time and who went back to Patrick’s native Jura when they wanted to make their own wine. 

Their holdings comprise an entire 10 percent of the tiny region of Château Chalon, which is considered the unofficial grand cru in Jura, especially for vin jaune. The vines are mostly between 30 to 45 years old and in perfect condition, in the process of being converted to organic. They work the soils to encourage vine roots to grow down into the bedrock, the Grey marl from Lya, in order to extract the minerals that express the character of this great terroir.

Their 2018 Poulsard, in particular, is gorgeous: melted tannins, juicy raspberry notes with a touch of eucalyptus and violets buoying the fruit. These are young vines, and the wine is fresh and full of energy. Their 2017 La Vouivre is excellent as well. It’s a blend of Chardonnay and Savagnin, made in the ouillé, or topped-off, style, meaning that they continually fill the barrels with fresh wine to minimize the initial wine’s exposure to oxygen. The native yeasts of Jura help contribute to its distinctively nutty, curried, and appley aromas with a bright component of fresh ginger. There’s a medium-lush texture with a bright, high-toned finish. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to try the 2018 Pinot, but I can’t wait to. Please try it and report back!

I was so enchanted with their wines that I contacted Sophie and Patrick to find out more about them. They sent me this video, with accompanying guitar music played by their daughter! Keep reading for a Q&A with Patrick.

KS: How did the domaine get started? What’s your and Sophie’s background?

PL: Sophie and I have been working in the wine and spirit business for all our professional life. Sophie is from Sweden and moved to France in the early 90’s. She has worked for 10 years for a spirits group (Cognac Ferrand) as export manager and now runs our exporting company since 2010, specialized in exporting small independent wine growers from Loire Valley, Champagne, Alsace, and, of course, Jura.

I am from Jura originally. I started my wine experience by training in Bordeaux and Burgundy while I was in business school. Then I studied at the Beaune Wine school in 1991 and trained with several winemakers there, especially with Emmauel Rouget in 1993. I then specialized in selling wines with several experiences such as Sommelier & Barman at Claridge’s Hotel, running a wine shop for 6 years in London, serving as export manager for Champagne Gosset for 10 years, and, of course, I started our company with Sophie in 2010.

The project of the domaine started by an old dream of having my own domaine when I started my wine life. Where else than Jura! It has always been my preference for such a project. It became reality when I met a local grower in 2015. I actually was in L.A. when I received a call telling me that 5 ha of vineyard in Chateau Chalon were becoming available to rent. So at the end of October 2015, the adventure started there. 

KS: Can you tell us about your specific region, the Château-Chalone sub-AOC, and a bit about what makes your site special?

PL: Chateau Chalon is the name of a wonderful village standing on the top of a rock for 3 centuries! It is also the name of the Grand Cru of Jura’s famous yellow wines known as “vin jaune.” These are wines aged under a veil of yeast for a minimum 6.5 years.

The king grape varietal of this vineyard is the very ancient grape called Savagnin,l which is at the origin of most of the white grapes known today (Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc…).

The specific soil of Grey Marl (also called Blue Marl) gives to the wines a unique salinity and potential for ageing. The Chateau Chalon appellation is only 50ha, very tiny. The domain owns 10% of it today.

KS: What’s your winemaking philosophy?

PL: Minimalist intervention on the wines. We work very hard on getting the best quality grapes to avoid having to interfere too much during the winemaking process. We are converting the domaine to organic farming, which will take another 5 years. We age the wines a long time in wooden cask, about 18 months on fine lees (3-year-old, second-hand wooden casks from Burgundy), low-SO2 approach (but not Nature), no filtration and no fining.

KS: What makes your wines unique/what should customers expect from your wines?

PL: Even if we are very proud of the traditional Chateau Chalon approach and we have started to produce some, we also have a single-vineyard approach with wines aged in 228L wooden barrels, which we topped up regularly to avoid the veil development. We believe we have different terroir expressions, as you can taste in our single-vineyard Chardonnay, Calvaire, Trémoulette, and En Lya, all vinified the same way, but developing completely different flavor profiles. Even if Chardonnay is the most planted grape variety on earth, here it develops some flavors that could confuse professionals in a blind tasting. Beaumont single-vineyard Savagnin is such a different approach compared with the traditional Savagnin under veil or produced elsewhere. Quite unique with spicy flavors mixed with exotic fruit touches such pineapple and passion fruits. Then our cuvée La Vouivre, a blend of the two grapes, has its own personality, such as the very old legend which carries the same name: beautiful, charming, and wild!

You have also received our first red wine, vintage 2018 Poulsard. Exclusive grape varietal from Jura. The grape is very demanding and has to be treated with love, passion, and precision. Of course, like the rest of the domaine, it is all picked by hand, destemmed by hand, with a short cold maceration to preserve its original fresh raspberry flavors. Pressed after 13 days it then spends 8 months in 500-liter wooden barrels. Raspberry coulis and unique as Jura!

KS: I love that your daughter plays the guitar in your video. Do you have other children and do they seem interested in winemaking?

PL: We have 2 kids, Victor 13 and Anna 11. Both enjoy spending time at the domaine, participating in some tasks here, but can’t say if it will become a vocation yet! Hoping to, but only the future will say.

We’ll continue to focus on our Jura favorites on the blog this summer, so stay tuned. In the meantime, dig in! And let me know what you are thinking and drinking at k a t e s o t o @ k l w i n e s . c o m.

- Kate Soto