François Rousset-Martin
Blink and you might miss Nevy-sur-Seille, a village tucked away in the Vallée des Reculées, where François Rousset-Martin makes his wine. Albeit discreet, this part of the Jura resembles something of the American West—undiscovered and wild, and rich in natural habitat. The backdrop here is dramatic: Massive limestone and marl cliffs perched atop pedestals of sloping vineyards, and in the foreground, flocks of livestock grazing and snoozing the day away. Traditionally a mixed farming region, the Jura is witnessing a new generation focused exclusively on winemaking, and in the case of Rousset, redefining what we consider typical of the area with his vins ouillés.
François first caught the wine-bug growing up in Burgundy where his father was a micro-biologist for the Hospices de Beaune. Childhood trips were spent in the Jura getting to know and falling in love with a parcel of family vines which he would later vinify with his father. After earning an oenology degree and continuing his journey in the southern Rhône and Languedoc regions, he returned to his Jurassian roots and in 2007 officially launched his winery. While his scientific background provides François with a literal understanding of the transformation from grape to wine, he’s most influenced by keen intuition, and winemaking lore passed down from his great grandfather, also a winemaker.
François's raison d'être is to better know and understand the incredible terroirs in which he is invested. His new project near the amazing town of Baume-les Messieurs holds great potential once the vines are of age. His current work is most focused on making previously inconceivable wines within the Château Chalon appellation, labeled as Côtes du Jura since he makes them in a non-oxidative (ouillé or topped-up) style. Vinified by climat with little to no sulfur and bottled unfined and unfiltered, the Rousset wines are complex and persistent, falling somewhere along the spectrum of floral and delicate, exotic and savory.
Blink and you might miss Nevy-sur-Seille, a village tucked away in the Vallée des Reculées, where François Rousset-Martin makes his wine. Albeit discreet, this part of the Jura resembles something of the American West—undiscovered and wild, and rich in natural habitat. The backdrop here is dramatic: Massive limestone and marl cliffs perched atop pedestals of sloping vineyards, and in the foreground, flocks of livestock grazing and snoozing the day away. Traditionally a mixed farming region, the Jura is witnessing a new generation focused exclusively on winemaking, and in the case of Rousset, redefining what we consider typical of the area with his vins ouillés.François first caught the wine-bug growing up in Burgundy where his father was a micro-biologist for the Hospices de Beaune. Childhood trips were spent in the Jura getting to know and falling in love with a parcel of family vines which he would later vinify with his father. After earning an oenology degree and continuing his journey in the southern Rhône and Languedoc regions, he returned to his Jurassian roots and in 2007 officially launched his winery. While his scientific background provides François with a literal understanding of the transformation from grape to wine, he’s most influenced by keen intuition, and winemaking lore passed down from his great grandfather, also a winemaker.
François's raison d'être is to better know and understand the incredible terroirs in which he is invested. His new project near the amazing town of Baume-les Messieurs holds great potential once the vines are of age. His current work is most focused on making previously inconceivable wines within the Château Chalon appellation, labeled as Côtes du Jura since he makes them in a non-oxidative (ouillé or topped-up) style. Vinified by climat with little to no sulfur and bottled unfined and unfiltered, the Rousset wines are complex and persistent, falling somewhere along the spectrum of floral and delicate, exotic and savory.
Technical Information
| Wine | Blend | Vine Age | Soil Type | Vineyard Area* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vin de France Aligoté “Aligatô” |
Aligoté | Planted in 1980 | Gray marl | 1 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Rouge “P P André” |
75% Pinot Noir, 25% Poulsard |
20 years | Gray marl | .3 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Chardonnay |
Chardonnay | 50 years | Clay-marl | .55 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Vignes aux Dames” |
Savagnin | 65 years | Clay-marl | .75 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Clos Bacchus” |
Savagnin | 40 years | Clay-marl | 1.11 ha |
| Côtes du Jura “Mémée Marie” |
85% Chardonnay, 15% Savagnin |
40 years | Gray, white marl | .7 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Gravières” |
Chardonnay | 40 – 50 years | Limestone | .3 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “La Chaux” |
Chardonnay | 65 years | Limestone, gray and white marl | .4 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Terres Blanches” |
Chardonnay | 40 years | Gray, white marl | .6 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Croix Sarrant” |
Chardonnay | 5 years | Limestone, clay-marl | .6 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Sous Roche” |
Chardonnay | 55 years | Gray Marl | .2 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Beaumont” |
Chardonnay | 65 years | Gray Marl | .25 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Oxymore” |
Chardonnay | 25-60 years old | Gray marl | n/a |
| Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Magnifique Goutte d’Eau” |
Chardonnay | 25-60 years old | Gray marl | n/a |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Oxymore” |
Savagnin | 25-60 years old | Gray marl | n/a |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Perle du Village” |
Savagnin | 25-60 years old | Gray marl | n/a |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Perrières” |
Savagnin | 30 years | Gray Marl | .4 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Balanoz” |
Savagnin | 6 years | Gray Marl | 1 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Balanoz Voile nº4” |
Savagnin | 6 years | Gray Marl | 1 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Clos Bacchus sous Voile 7 ans” |
Savagnin | 40 years | Clay, marl | 1.11 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Puits Saint Pierre” |
Savagnin | 80+ years | Gray marl | .15 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Cuvee du Professeur Sous Roche” |
Savagnin | 30 years | Gray marl | .25 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Sous-Roche sous Voile 10 ans” |
Savagnin | 30 years | Gray marl | .25 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Veine bleue de Bacchus Clos Bacchus” |
Savagnin | 40 years | Clay, marl | 1.11 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Poulsard |
Poulsard | Planted in 1998 | Red marl | .5 ha |
| Vin de France Poulsard Noir “Les Vignasses” |
Poulsard | Planted in 1998 | Red marl | .3 ha |
| Côtes du Jura Pinot Noir “Cuvée 909” |
Pinot Noir | Planted in 1998 | Clay, Limestone | .45 ha |
| Vin de France Pinot Noir “Voyage au bout de Nuits” |
Pinot Noir | Planted in 1990 | Clay, Limestone | .16 ha |
| Vin de France “La Chaux Passerillé” |
Chardonnay | 30 years | Limestone, gray and white marl | .16 ha |
| Vieux Macvin |
Savagnin or Chardonnay depending on the vintage | N/A | Gray marl | N/A |
| * "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres | ||||
VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION
• Hand-harvested
• Barrels (228L pièces bourguignonne and demi-muids) all are 3 to 4 years old
• Wines undergo malolactic fermentation
• All wines aged on fine lees
• Neither fined, nor filtered
• Oxidative wines have no added sulfur
• The domaine’s vines are located in the Château-Chalon and Côtes du Jura AOCs. For wines to take the Château-Chalon AOC, they must be Savagnin raised sous-voile in demi-muid
Vin de France Aligoté “Aligatô”:
• Aged in Burgundian barrels
• Aligoté sourced from Bouzeron
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay:
• Aged sous-voile in barrel for six years
• Vineyard located in the village of Château Chalon (specifically the La Chaux parcel)
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Vignes aux Dames”:
• Barrel raised, non-oxidative
• Vineyard located in the village of Menétru-le-Vignoble
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Clos Bacchus”:
• Barrel raised, non-oxidative
• Vineyard located in the village of Menétru-le-Vignoble
Côtes du Jura “Mémée Marie”:
• Savagnin is aged sous-voile for 3 months
• Chardonnay and Savagnin are blended in stainless steel tank and aged for 11 months
• Vineyard located in the village of Lavigny
• Named for François’s grandmother Marie
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Gravières”:
• Barrel raised, non-oxidative
• Aged for 15 months on fine lees
• Vineyard located in the village of Lavigny
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “La Chaux”:
• Barrel raised, non-oxidative
• Aged for 14 months on fine lees
• Vineyard located in the village of Château Chalon
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Terres Blanches”:
• Barrel raised, non-oxidative
• Aged for 15 months on fine lees
• Vineyard located in the village of Lavigny
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Croix Sarrant”:
• Non-oxidative
• Aged for 18 months in 400L barrels
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Sous Roche”:
• Non-oxidative
• Aged for 18 months in 225L barrels
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Beaumont”:
• Non-oxidative
• Aged for 18 months in 225L barrels
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Oxymore”
• Oxidative, 4 years sous voile
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Magnifique Goutte d’Eau”
• Non-oxidative, late harvest selection of Chardonnay (picked in Novemeber) of grapes that were overripe, but not botrytized.
• Ages 4 years
• Named after Francois’ daughter, whose name Laurette, written in Kanji, means “magnificent droplet of water”
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Oxymore”
• Oxidative, 4 years sous voile
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Perle du Village”
• Non-oxidative, late harvest selection of Savagnin (picked in Novemeber) of grapes that were overripe, but not botrytized.
• Ages 4 years
• Named after Francois’ daughter, whose name Julie, written in Kanji, means “perle of the village”
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Perriéres”:
• Non-oxidative
• Aged for 18 months in 225L barrels
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Balanoz”:
• Non-oxidative
• Aged for 18 months in 225L barrels
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Balanoz Voile nº4”:
• Aged sous-voile in 225L barrels for four years
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Clos Bacchus sous Voile 7 ans”:
• Aged sous-voile in barrel for seven years
• Vineyard located in the village of Menétru-le-Vignoble
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Puits Saint Pierre”:
• Aged in barrel, sous-voile for 6 months, then topped off for 10 months
• Vineyard located in the village of Nevy-sur-Seille
• Puits Saint Pierre, or “Saint Pierre’s Well”, is the name of the climat within Château Chalon
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Cuvee du Professeur Sous Roche”:
• 2013: Topped off for 16 months
• 2014: Savagnin picked late, topped off for 14 months
• Vineyard located in the village of Château Chalon
• The vines for this cuvée are owned by François’s father, who was a professor at the University of Dijon
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Sous-Roche sous Voile 10 ans”:
• Aged sous-voile in barrel for ten years
• Vineyard located in the village of Château Chalon
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Veine bleue de Bacchus Clos Bacchus”:
• Non-oxidative wine
• 18 months in demi-muids
• Vineyard located in the village of Menétru-le-Vignoble
Côtes du Jura Rouge “P P André”:
• Vinfication in stainless steel tank
• Maceration for 7 days with 2 punchdowns
• Vineyard located in the village of Menétru-le-Vignoble
Côtes du Jura Poulsard:
• Aged at least 6 months in Burgundian barrels
• Vineyard located in the commune of Voiteur
Vin de France Poulsard Noir “Les Vignasses”:
• Aged 12 months in Burgundian barrels
• Vineyard located in the commune of Voiteur
Côtes du Jura Pinot Noir “Cuvée 909”:
• Aged 12 months in 400-L barrels
• Vineyard located in the commune of Menétru-le-Vignoble
• 909 refers to the year in which a handful of Jurassian monks left the abbey of Baume-les-Messieurs to found the Cluny Abbey
Vin de France Pinot Noir “Voyage au bout de Nuits”:
• Aged at least 6 months in Burgundian barrels
• Grapes sourced from Nuits-Saint-Georges
• The name of this bottling is a play on the novel Voyage au bout de la nuit by Louis-Ferdinand Céline and the fact that this wine is made with grapes from one end of (“au bout de”) the commune of Nuits-Saint-Georges.
Vin de France “La Chaux Passerillé”:
• Current vintage is 2009
• Grapes dried for 5 months in wood boxes
• Barrel aged for 6.5 years
• Wine is not topped off, but because it is a sweet wine, sous-voile yeasts can’t grow
• 200 g/L residual sugar
• Vineyard located in the village of Nevy-sur-Seille
Vieux Macvin:
• Aged 5 years in Burgundian barrels
• Barrels (228L pièces bourguignonne and demi-muids) all are 3 to 4 years old
• Wines undergo malolactic fermentation
• All wines aged on fine lees
• Neither fined, nor filtered
• Oxidative wines have no added sulfur
• The domaine’s vines are located in the Château-Chalon and Côtes du Jura AOCs. For wines to take the Château-Chalon AOC, they must be Savagnin raised sous-voile in demi-muid
Vin de France Aligoté “Aligatô”:
• Aged in Burgundian barrels
• Aligoté sourced from Bouzeron
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay:
• Aged sous-voile in barrel for six years
• Vineyard located in the village of Château Chalon (specifically the La Chaux parcel)
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Vignes aux Dames”:
• Barrel raised, non-oxidative
• Vineyard located in the village of Menétru-le-Vignoble
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Clos Bacchus”:
• Barrel raised, non-oxidative
• Vineyard located in the village of Menétru-le-Vignoble
Côtes du Jura “Mémée Marie”:
• Savagnin is aged sous-voile for 3 months
• Chardonnay and Savagnin are blended in stainless steel tank and aged for 11 months
• Vineyard located in the village of Lavigny
• Named for François’s grandmother Marie
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Gravières”:
• Barrel raised, non-oxidative
• Aged for 15 months on fine lees
• Vineyard located in the village of Lavigny
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “La Chaux”:
• Barrel raised, non-oxidative
• Aged for 14 months on fine lees
• Vineyard located in the village of Château Chalon
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Terres Blanches”:
• Barrel raised, non-oxidative
• Aged for 15 months on fine lees
• Vineyard located in the village of Lavigny
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Croix Sarrant”:
• Non-oxidative
• Aged for 18 months in 400L barrels
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Sous Roche”:
• Non-oxidative
• Aged for 18 months in 225L barrels
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Beaumont”:
• Non-oxidative
• Aged for 18 months in 225L barrels
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Oxymore”
• Oxidative, 4 years sous voile
Côtes du Jura Chardonnay “Magnifique Goutte d’Eau”
• Non-oxidative, late harvest selection of Chardonnay (picked in Novemeber) of grapes that were overripe, but not botrytized.
• Ages 4 years
• Named after Francois’ daughter, whose name Laurette, written in Kanji, means “magnificent droplet of water”
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Oxymore”
• Oxidative, 4 years sous voile
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Perle du Village”
• Non-oxidative, late harvest selection of Savagnin (picked in Novemeber) of grapes that were overripe, but not botrytized.
• Ages 4 years
• Named after Francois’ daughter, whose name Julie, written in Kanji, means “perle of the village”
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Perriéres”:
• Non-oxidative
• Aged for 18 months in 225L barrels
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Balanoz”:
• Non-oxidative
• Aged for 18 months in 225L barrels
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Balanoz Voile nº4”:
• Aged sous-voile in 225L barrels for four years
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Clos Bacchus sous Voile 7 ans”:
• Aged sous-voile in barrel for seven years
• Vineyard located in the village of Menétru-le-Vignoble
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Puits Saint Pierre”:
• Aged in barrel, sous-voile for 6 months, then topped off for 10 months
• Vineyard located in the village of Nevy-sur-Seille
• Puits Saint Pierre, or “Saint Pierre’s Well”, is the name of the climat within Château Chalon
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Cuvee du Professeur Sous Roche”:
• 2013: Topped off for 16 months
• 2014: Savagnin picked late, topped off for 14 months
• Vineyard located in the village of Château Chalon
• The vines for this cuvée are owned by François’s father, who was a professor at the University of Dijon
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Sous-Roche sous Voile 10 ans”:
• Aged sous-voile in barrel for ten years
• Vineyard located in the village of Château Chalon
Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Veine bleue de Bacchus Clos Bacchus”:
• Non-oxidative wine
• 18 months in demi-muids
• Vineyard located in the village of Menétru-le-Vignoble
Côtes du Jura Rouge “P P André”:
• Vinfication in stainless steel tank
• Maceration for 7 days with 2 punchdowns
• Vineyard located in the village of Menétru-le-Vignoble
Côtes du Jura Poulsard:
• Aged at least 6 months in Burgundian barrels
• Vineyard located in the commune of Voiteur
Vin de France Poulsard Noir “Les Vignasses”:
• Aged 12 months in Burgundian barrels
• Vineyard located in the commune of Voiteur
Côtes du Jura Pinot Noir “Cuvée 909”:
• Aged 12 months in 400-L barrels
• Vineyard located in the commune of Menétru-le-Vignoble
• 909 refers to the year in which a handful of Jurassian monks left the abbey of Baume-les-Messieurs to found the Cluny Abbey
Vin de France Pinot Noir “Voyage au bout de Nuits”:
• Aged at least 6 months in Burgundian barrels
• Grapes sourced from Nuits-Saint-Georges
• The name of this bottling is a play on the novel Voyage au bout de la nuit by Louis-Ferdinand Céline and the fact that this wine is made with grapes from one end of (“au bout de”) the commune of Nuits-Saint-Georges.
Vin de France “La Chaux Passerillé”:
• Current vintage is 2009
• Grapes dried for 5 months in wood boxes
• Barrel aged for 6.5 years
• Wine is not topped off, but because it is a sweet wine, sous-voile yeasts can’t grow
• 200 g/L residual sugar
• Vineyard located in the village of Nevy-sur-Seille
Vieux Macvin:
• Aged 5 years in Burgundian barrels
General Information
- Country
- France
- Region
- Jura
- Appellation(s)
- Vin de France, Côtes du Jura
- Producer
- François Rousset-Martin
- Founded
- 2007
- Annual Production
- 1,000 cases
- Farming
- Organic (practicing)
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