Valentin Morel - Trousseau Les Trouillots 2020

Trousseau 

Jura, France

Organic, Biodynamic 

From the importer - 

35+ year old vines planted on the Triassic marl soil of Trouillots. Manual harvest, Destemmed but kept whole berry with 12 day maceration (no punchdowns) under a blanket of CO2 to avoid using sulfur. Spontaneous semi carbonic fermentation and malolactic in stainless steel then racked onto fine lees and aged in stainless steel tanks. Unfiltered. SO2: 1 g /hl at bottling.

Just a few years after earning a masters 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. All of the wines are produced with natural yeast and no additions other than tiny amounts of sulfur on some bottlings (zero sulfur on others). Chardonnay Les Trouillots and Pinot Noir Les Trouillots were produced with zero sulfur during production and bottling.