Domaine de L’Aigle à Deux Têtes 'Les Clous' Poulsard 2023

"Henri Le Roy is an auto-didactic vigneron farming historic terroir in the dramatic southern Jura in eastern France. A former geneticist and biologist from Paris, Le Roy gave up the sterile and precise scientific life to pursue the soulful craftsmanship and exciting variability of winemaking. Aspiring to work in Burgundy, but priced out of that region, he purchased parcels in the Jura near famous estates located on the slopes of Rotalier and Grusse. His Burgundian winemaking sensibilities came along with him, and were reinforced with support from his neighbor, Jean-François Ganevat, who advised him to employ the non-oxidative (ouillé) method.

Naming his estate for the heraldry of the Habsburg empire that once held sway over the region, Henri pursues back-to-basics, elegant and transparent wines that convey the ancient marl soils and lush green hills of the Jura. He farms his 3.5ha using organic principles (but has eschewed the bureaucracy of certification in recent years), utilizing only natural fertilizer and pest deterrents. In his winery, Le Roy seems relieved to have left behind his past laboratory work, gladly allowing native yeast to vinify his indigenous grape varieties, and topping up his old French barrels to maintain tension and purity of the wines. He shrugs off onerous, artificial strategy and external dictates—his objective is to get out of the way and let the vision of the wines be dictated by the Jurassic air, soil, and iconic grape varieties. Henri invites us to “taste the wines, concentrate, and dream. That’s the relevant argument for [them].”

Located near his small winery, the Les Clous vineyard features two of the grapes most strongly associated with the Jura, and almost nowhere else: savagnin and poulsard. The latter reaches its apotheosis here on the unique terroir of the southern Jura, with its blue and white marl soils. Light-to-medium bodied, showcasing Henri’s Burgundian proclivities, this poulsard brings the red fruit with aplomb. A generous nose of strawberry and raspberry finds complexity on the palate with red and purple flowers and expertly dialed-in grip—bright, elegant, and dry, a serious wine that doesn’t forfeit joy in the process." -Importer notes