Hidden plots
ENTHUSIASTIC
We tasted and discussed this clever character's red and white wines for weeks and enjoyed them repeatedly. I noticed that I always judged the wines as unprecedentedly pure and clean and that despite having been opened many days in advance, they became more and more beautiful in the glass.
In contrast to many classics from the Jura, I found the wines to have so much youthful beauty and finesse, and the philosophy of Nicolas Jacob and his biodynamic method intrigued me so much that I wanted to delve a little deeper into it. Our first visit was to a tiny cellar in the village of l'Etoile, where he enthusiastically started in 2017 with a 2015 vintage of one hectare.
HERO
He tells us that flowers and plants have always played an essential role in his life, but that he still chose wine growing and was able to start working with Laurent Macle at Château Chalon. When Fanfan later asks him to come and work there full-time as his right-hand man, he takes on the challenge with both hands. Not only because he gets the chance to make his wine little by little but also because Jean-Francois Ganevat is his great example and hero.
DISTINCTIVE
In his spare time, he searches for hidden small plots of ancient vines across the hills. Plots that have been ignored by larger producers over the years due to their isolation, low yields and difficult cultivation. Plots of old vines give the wine intensity, concentration and depth and produce distinctive wines due to their optimal location and age.
MENTOR
Today, Nicolas has three locations where the land is worked according to organic and biodynamic principles by the lunar calendar so that the vines and the soil can fully express their character. Each intervention is most careful, and much time is spent on growth management. It is a labour-intensive process with much manual work and the only way to make small quantities of high-quality wines. In the style of his mentor, Jean-Francois Ganevat, Chardonnay, Savagnin and Pinot Noir are aged without intervention in used barrels and filled to the brim to prevent oxidation.
HEARTS STOLEN
Working with passion and skill from a new cellar under his house in Cesancey, like his mentors, he proves himself to be a great talent and a master of élevage. Nicolas tries to understand his terroirs by fermenting and monitoring each plot separately. He only decides on the final blend when the wine has achieved a rare clarity, focus and detail. These are some of the most beautifully finished and complete wines of the Jura, so it is no wonder that Nicolas has stolen the hearts of many fans.
