Lot presentation

Mercurey Les Vaux Paul & Marie Jacqueson 2014

The wine

Rioja Alta is the coolest region in Rioja thanks to the influence of the Atlantic and is therefore spared from the stifling heat elsewhere in the region. Maturana Tinta is an indigenous grape variety that had almost disappeared and was brought back from near extinction by Juan Carlos Sancha. The grapes are harvested by hand before being destemmed and fermenting in 500-litre barrels. The wine is raised for just under a year in these same casks. It is spicy, with lots of texture.

About the Producer Paul & Marie Jacqueson

Henri Jacqueson (Paul's father) took over the family land in 1945 and planted it with vines. Back then, only five winegrowers in the village of Rully, situated in the Côte Chalonnaise in the southern extension of the Côte des Blancs, just below Beaune, had planted vines on their land. Gradually, he expanded the domaine by buying well placed parcels in Mercurey and especially in Rully. In 1971, Paul took over the estate with his wife Pierrette, before it passed on to their children, Marie in 2006 and Pierre in 2015. The three generations helped build the reputation of the appellation through wines of ever greater finesse and precision.
Today, the estate covers 18 hectares, with parcels mainly in Rully but also in Mercurey and Bouzeron, with 55% planted with black grape varieties. Their soils are mechanically worked (no weed killers) because according to Paul Jacqueson, only slow and repeated ploughing properly maintains the soil. The harvest is entirely manual and the grapes are sorted and destemmed as soon as they arrive at the winery. The red wines, like the whites, are laid for 12 months in oak barrels made by several Burgundy coopers with staves from the Troncay forest and dried for at least two years. The proportion of new barrels is generally 20% for whites and 25% for reds.
A name not to be missed for true lovers of Burgundy wine.