Here is a delightful case in which a fast-rising reputation has at its back entirely deserving wines. These same wines were already quite good from around 2010 though from 2016 on they have found a deeper and more lasting resonance.
Though the whites are animated by superb reduction and the reds tend toward whole-cluster, Julien's wines rarely feel ‘made.’ Human input adds color and shading without distracting from deeper place-centered priorities. Our clearest cue comes in side-by-side tastings in which cuvées individuate strongly - even radically - from one another.
Julien worked at Domaine Ramonet in Chassagne and continues to cite the permanent influence of his time there. Before Julien’s era his family’s whites showed varying degrees of flor in the traditional style of the Jura, something he came to feel had too homogenizing an influence. Topping up has allowed him, and us vicariously, to find greater wine-to-wine individuality.
Please know that quantities are extremely thin. Well, well worth snagging what you can while you can.
Cheers,
Jason
