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Francois Rousset Martin + Little Reddie tasting this Saturday 3-6PM + Our final wine fair for the year - 9th December 1-5pm

by Annandale Cellars

Francois Rousset Martin

 

I walked off the train to be greeted by Alex. We didn’t know each other. We hugged and I got two kisses, one for each cheek. Jumping in her car we spoke uncomfortably, but happily, like you do when neither of you speak each others native tongue well - piecing together sentences and making assumptions of their meaning. Our heads moved side to side and our fingers pointing in all directions out the windows. She was guiding me through towns, vineyards, geography, geology… Everything. I wanted to know and Alex was proud to tell me. 

The roads went from two lanes into one, from straight to bendy, flat to undulating. We were getting closer to our destination. Alex rose her right hand in front of her, palm to the skies and paraded it across the dash and said “There is a lot nature here”. I was in Jura.

Jura is like no other region I’ve been to. Nature was everywhere here, even in farming. I’ve visited a lot of regions around the world and seen the creation of monocultures. Hectares upon hectares of vineyards, as far as the eye can see. Not in Jura. Vineyards are dotted around the region among protected forests, epic rock formations, orchids of fruit and nuts, sheep for wool and meat, and of course, cows for Comte cheese. It’s a diverse region deeply embedded in nature. There’s no wonder natural wines found a home in Jura, with many of the producers here just calling it wine.

One such producer is Francois Rousset-Martin (FRM). I had landed a position with him and his wife Alex in the small village of Nevy-sur-Seille (just down the road from Chateau Chalon) for the 2022 harvest. Francois had come from a family of biologists and winemakers and he was a combination of the two. Alex was a musician and an expert in flutes. Together, they are both science and art, and above all they appreciated nature, which has transcended into their wines… or is it the other way around??

Francois farms 10 hectares on the slopes of the prized Chateau-Chalon region. This epic place, with its township atop a limestone cliff, encapsulates viticultural beauty. The soils are marl, a combination of limestone and clay, which set the groundwork for these ground-breaking wines. Francois farms his vineyards organically and sprays of copper and sulfur are kept to a minimum (in the 2022 vintage Francois only sprayed twice). 

In the cellar the wines are made with no additions of any kind. Not even sulfur, because “sulfur is for cleaning” according to Francois. Instead he relies on the natural microbiology in his vineyard and cellars to ferment, age and eventually stabilise the wines. I remember him telling me one day in the cellar, waving his finger in the air and a smile on his face, “The biology is very important here”. He was alluding to the walls of the old cellar that were caked in what looks like mould to the untrained eye. In some cases, centuries of microbiological buildup that Francois owes a lot of his vinification and wine character to. Without this, he believes he would have nothing. 

The wines of Francois Rousset-Martin exceed the idea of quality or ratings. They are an experience every time you open a bottle. A journey. A delicious one at that. They’re not your usual run-of-the-mill wines. They’re not always clear or pristine, and might even be variable from one bottle to the next, but they are very real. They represent the vintage, the vineyard and the cellar. They represent everything good in a natural wine with Francois being but a guide along their journey to wine.

Now I know this all might sound like marketing spin or vinous romance (and it probably is in a lot of cases). But at FRM, this is a part of life. A life I got to live for a month and one I’ll be looking for again.

If it was Alex that summarised it in the car on my first day then Francois definitely solidified it throughout the course of harvest. Jura is nature, and good nature makes good wines. - Chris L

The reds: Pinot Noir, Poulsard/Ploussard and Trousseau are fermented naturally with varying levels of whole bunch depending on the season. They are pressed post-fermentation and raised in old barriques until bottling. They are perfumed and lighter in body, yet full of presence and structure.


The whites: Chardonnay and Savagnin are generally direct pressed and fermented naturally in old barrels. They are topped up for 12 months and live under flor for at least another 12 months depending on the cuvée. They are powerful and complex, structured and intense.

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Little Reddie

Saturday 18th of November

3-6PM

Join us on Saturday to taste through the new releases from Little Reddie.

Pat Underwood from Little Reddie is one of those new wave/young gun producers that caught the wine bug working in hospo and decided to switch sides, forging a new path with the help of some very clued up mates like Jarad Curwood of Chapter Wines, Tim Sproal of Minim and Boomtown and even spending a good chunk of time with Olek Bondonio fine tuning his love for Nebbiolo. 

Pat’s approach is very site driven seeking out vineyards across Central Victoria that produce the high quality of fruit he is after and then he takes an individual approach to each of the wines he produces preferring to treat each wine from each site differently to coax the best out of them opting for the freedom to be hands on or hands off depending on the desired outcome. 

His wines traverse the line between playful and serious and I think that will become pretty obvious at the tasting as we go from his varietal and focussed Pinot Grigio, stunning Dash Farms Chardonnay to one of my favourites, Super Juice which is a Nebbiolo based light red/rose hybrid that should be ready to go in all of our fridges. It’s smashable, playful and super… Juice.  

On tasting will be:

Little Reddie Leanganook Mountain Fizz 2023

Little Reddie Pinot Grigio 2023

Little Reddie Dash Farms Chardonnay 2021

LittleReddieNebbiolo Super Juice 2023

LittleReddieNebbiolo Refosco 2023

 

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It's that time of year again!

WINE FAIR TIME!

The festival of all things vinous is back and like always it's not to be missed!

We've handpicked a whole bunch of our favourite producers and selected a range of wines that show off the very best of this seasons drinking.

There will be a strong focus on fizz; from Pet Nats to Champagne and everything in between while still having a wide selection of non fizzy options too. The full producer list is still in the works but if you’ve been to one of these events you know they aren’t to be missed.

Rain, hail or shine, it won't stop us from putting on a good time.

Tickets are just $30 and include a Riedel tasting glass, yours to take home.

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