Valentin Morel established Les Pieds Sur Terre in Poligny in 2014, taking over his family’s 6 hectares of vines and converting the estate to biodynamic farming. After studying viticulture in Alsace and working with influences such as Bruno Schueller and Pierre Frick, Valentin returned to the Jura with a clear focus on natural, site driven wines and minimal intervention.

En Bois d’Arnaux is a vineyard north of Poligny planted in 2015 to Savagnin and Poulsard, with the Savagnin sourced from Julien Labet. The vines grow on some of the oldest soils in the Jura, Iris Marl, a mixture of multicoloured marls dating from the Triassic period.

The Savagnin Ouille 2020 is naturally fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged for 3 years in barrel followed by a further year in bottle before release. Ouille means the barrels are regularly topped up, keeping the wine protected from flor and giving a completely different expression from a traditional Vin Jaune. As with all of Valentin’s wines, it is unfined, unfiltered and made without sulphur additions.

Precise, pure and beautifully saline, with pastry, citrus pith, grapefruit skin and an almost electric line of acidity. The palate is vivid and expansive, with the fruit carried by remarkable freshness and a long, savoury finish.

A serious, beautifully aged Jura Savagnin with incredible length and definition. This is the sort of bottle that rewards attention, revealing more and more as it warms in the glass.