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| Poulsard is a large-berried, thin-skinned red variety with a history in France’s Jura region dating back to at least the 14th century. Poulsard does not develop a lot of pigment and the red wines it makes are typically so lightly hued that you might mistake them for rosé, an impression reinforced by the texture, again, typically light. Poulsard is OG glou glou: soif-y wine before we had a name for the category. And yet if you guzzle a proper bottle of poulsard by ostentatiously placing the bottle to your lips and chugging it because it makes you feel that by doing so you telegraph to others, “look at me, I am a rebel, transgressing all that is Puritanical and abstemious in our culture,” you’re doing it wrong. I mean, more power to you for seeking a symbolic victory over the banality of self-denial (you know you want it), but there is another face to poulsard that reveals itself to you when you do not guzzle. Poulsard can make subtle, perfumed wines that only reveal themselves to you if you slow the fuck down and give them a chance. Poulsard is an atavistic throwback to the sensibility of another place and time, and today it remains a regional specialty that is only grown in the Jura and to the south in Bugey. It is a wine that is seemingly destined to enjoy with hearty, winter-time food, though you can certainly chill it down on a warm afternoon. In addition, it’s not an easy grape to cultivate—it’s susceptible to frost, various vine diseases including mildew, and sun damage, making you might wonder why in the hell anyone would continue to work with it as a sentimental attachment to grandpa’s vineyards only gets you so far, if you’re trying to make a living selling the wine you make to others. The answer is quite simple: the Jurassiens like poulsard, and it turns out not a few wine drinkers from outside the region do, too. Tonight, we’re pouring four red wines from the Jura, three of which are made from poulsard. |
| Domaine de la Renardière Ploussard Arbois Pupillin 2018 Domaine Courbet Poulsard Côtes du Jura 2018 Domaine de la Pinte “Poulsard de l’Ami Karl” Arbois 2017 André et Mireille Tissot “Sous la Tour” Pinot Noir Arbois 2017 |