Pierre Boniface Apremont 2015
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Certified Sustainable HVE3 and a true earthly paradise nestled in the French Alps, Les Rocailles is owned and managed by boyhood friends and native Savoyard Guillaume Durand, who purchased the estate and négociant business from Pierre Boniface upon his retirement in 2006. Today, he owns 24 acres under vine, lease another 26 acres, and continue to purchase grapes for select wines on an as-needed basis.
The well-exposed, south/southeast-facing hillside vineyards are situated on the lower slopes of Mont Granier and are dominated by stony, clay/limestone soils. Fruit ripens to absolute perfection in this mild, sunny climate, and the wines bear the telltale aromas of the mountain air and Alpine forests, lakes and streams.
The Apremont, a featherweight white made from the Jacquère grape, has always been and will continue to be the signature wine at Les Rocailles, but over the years, Guillaume and Alban have expanded the breadth of their offerings to include a wider range of white, red and sparkling wines.
There are hundreds of white grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles.
On the foothills of the Jura Mountains, just east of the Cote de Beaune on the Switzerland border, the Jura wine-producing zone is recognized for its unique reds, as well as its particular and diverse styles of whites.
Though borrowed from their neighbor Burgundy, Chardonnay and Pinot noir have been growing in Jura since the Middle Ages. But here the altitude, topography, climate and clay-rich, marl soils support a different style of Pinot noir, not to mention its other deeply-colored, full-bodied indigenous reds, Poulsard and Trousseau.
Considering area under vine, growers here favor Chardonnay for its consistency and reliability; it comprises almost half of Jura's vineyard acreage. However, Jura Chardonnay is anything but boring; its many offbeat styles are part of what make region’s wines so distinctive. It is used for Cremant (sparkling), Macvin (a fortified wine), as well as fine examples at the quality level of Burgundy.
Jura also has a unique oxidative style for Chardonnay but is better recognized for its similarly-styled “vin jaune,” meaning ‘yellow wine,’ which is made from the indigenous variety, Savagnin. Vin jaune is made using techniques similar to those used to make Sherry.
For all of its wines, Jura favors a traditional, natural and often organic style in viticulture and winemaking.