Jura's Wiseman Returns
2007 Macle Côtes du Jura
Jura's Pinnacle of Elegance and Refinement
When we sent out our first Macle offer two and a half years ago, we said, "This is crazy, but these are great wines. Let's do an email and just see what happens..." By the time of our 06 Côtes du Jura offer last January, we had switched to saying, "I can't believe how much of this we've sold."
Jura's wines are finally beginning to get their due, and we, for one, are very happy about this.
Macle has a lot do do with it. Jean Macle, who now applies his craft with his son, Laurent, is simply tops in the Jura when it comes to rendering "sous voile" (oxidative style) wines with striking breed and harmony. These are some of the most complex, singular and food-friendly wines out there, and Macle's version represents the pinnacle of elegance and refinement.
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Macle's Côtes du Jura, along with German Riesling and Muscadet, is also one of the great white wine values out there.
What lifts Macle to the top of the category is the estate's ability to take Jura's wild, earthy flavors and, with absolute clarity weave them together into a unified tapestry that has an undeniable, mineral-driven elegance. As Andrew Jefford says in The New France, "[Macle's wines] seem to rifle through a repertoire of the natural world as you sniff and sip."
These wines, for all their eccentric quirks, move amazingly across the palate with a calm grace, with a seamless oil- and mineral-infused spine that gives them great direction and focus... and that guarantees they'll have no problem seeing their 20th birthday.
*Before we continue, a disclaimer is in order: These are beautiful yet unique wines - there is an oxidative tang to the wines that is very distinct. If you're unfamiliar with the white wines of the Jura, try a bottle before you go long!*
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The complexity and elegance of Macle's wines should come as no surprise: Beyond the skillful, über-conscientious winemaking, the Chardonnay and Savagnin vines for Macle's Côtes du Jura are from a choice plot that was in fact part of Château-Chalon until the appellation’s boundaries were redrawn in the 1980s. When you drive up to the hill town of Château-Chalon, the favorable situation of the area is obvious.
For those who remember Macle's 04 Côtes du Jura, the 07 is in a similar vein - more on the nervous and lithe side of things compared to 05 and 06. All of Macle's signatures are present here as well: mirabelle plum, meyer lemon marmalade, moss, mushrooms, pine needles, crushed baking spices, stony minerality, a silken but powerful acidity.
Sous voile wines' place to shine is at the table. My favorite pairings with the Côtes de Jura are a simple roast chicken and potato puree spiked with walnut oil, winter squash soup, or Jura's most famous dish: chicken with cream, vin jaune and morels.
The increase in notoriety makes these wines, which are already in short supply, harder to secure in quantity. With only 12 total hectares of land and a name that looms large, demand for Macle tends to be greater than supply. To place your order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
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Wine is pre-arrival
NET | No further discount