Jacques Puffeney
Many of you know already that Jacques Puffeney, the sage of Jura, has just completed his last vintage and is going to enjoy a well-earned retirement with his wife Monique.
Jacques is a gentle but incredibly determined and hard-working character who is so well respected amongst his peers, that during my first ever fact-finding excursion to Jura, other vignerons kept telling me unsolicited, that I must visit him! He is a legend, and I am pleased with the reverence that he is offered in the “sommelier circles” of Paris, Sydney, Melbourne and the like. Paris especially is abuzz with the news of his retirement and the mystery of what will happen next and if anyone will take over.
For those of you who are not familiar with this small 7.5ha estate, Jacques Puffeney’s parents owned a tiny vineyard in the village of Montigny Les Arsures (a small satellite village of Arbois). Jacques worked his first vintage at age 17, and he also worked simultaneously as a “saleur de Comté”, helping to make the fabled cheese of his region. The Puffeney domaine, slowly growing over Jacques’ 51 vintages, now has vineyards in Montigny and the surrounding villages and encompasses 7.5 hectares, all in the appellation of Arbois. His fame and respect from other vignerons has been recognized throughout France and has earned him the nickname among the wine trade “the Pope of Arbois”. heartandsoil.com.au
Jacques is a gentle but incredibly determined and hard-working character who is so well respected amongst his peers, that during my first ever fact-finding excursion to Jura, other vignerons kept telling me unsolicited, that I must visit him! He is a legend, and I am pleased with the reverence that he is offered in the “sommelier circles” of Paris, Sydney, Melbourne and the like. Paris especially is abuzz with the news of his retirement and the mystery of what will happen next and if anyone will take over.
For those of you who are not familiar with this small 7.5ha estate, Jacques Puffeney’s parents owned a tiny vineyard in the village of Montigny Les Arsures (a small satellite village of Arbois). Jacques worked his first vintage at age 17, and he also worked simultaneously as a “saleur de Comté”, helping to make the fabled cheese of his region. The Puffeney domaine, slowly growing over Jacques’ 51 vintages, now has vineyards in Montigny and the surrounding villages and encompasses 7.5 hectares, all in the appellation of Arbois. His fame and respect from other vignerons has been recognized throughout France and has earned him the nickname among the wine trade “the Pope of Arbois”. heartandsoil.com.au