![]() ![]() He was and remains a hard act for his son Vincent to follow, but the latter’s wines are going from strength to strength in quality, still aged in their beautifully maintained Alsace foudres among other oak barrels. And there is nothing Lucien enjoys more than pouring his wines and sharing laughter and banter around the stove in their old cellars, full of foudres adorned with cartoons and bons mots.” The official notice of his death posted by his family asked that according to his wishes, everyone should raise a glass to celebrate his life. “Much respected locally, Bacchus seems like one of those dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists who believes there’s only one way to do things, yet he presents his opinions almost as a challenge, always accompanied by a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes. But I felt I knew him enough to write this in my book: He was an emotional, dedicated man, who for this English woman, took time to get to know. Lucien said the experience of tasting a 200-year old wine gave him goose-bumps. The two of them were the vignerons represented at the famous tasting of the 1774 Arbois ‘vin jaune’ in 1994. Of a similar age, Lucien knew Pierre Overnoy well and although many of their vineyard and winemaking methods were different, like Pierre he remained adamant that indigenous yeasts were essential to making good wine. He was one of the first vignerons to bottle his own wine from the vineyards he built up in and around his village of Montigny-les-Arsures. ![]() The main photos that feature in this post, kindly provided by Mick Rock of Cephas, chief photographer for the book, were taken exactly eight years ago in the early summer of 2013, one that was slow to kick in, not so dissimilar to 2021.īorn into a farming family, Lucien Aviet made wine full-time from 1960 having returned from fighting for France in the Algerian War. Their profiles in my book, Jura Wine, were written more than seven years ago but still reflect well these fine Jura estates, which had both very much made their mark on the region by that time. Both men showed single-minded purpose in the way they chose to bring the Jura terroir to life in their wines.Īlthough both made highly characterful Chardonnays that reflected their terroir well (interestingly neither vigneron ever made a Pinot Noir as far as I am aware), it was their handling of the three indigenous Jura grape varieties, Savagnin, Poulsard and Trousseau that to me provided the star wines in their ranges. I am personally grateful to both Pascal and Bacchus not only for the wines they crafted – Pascal together with Evelyne, and Bacchus with his son Vincent – but also for what they taught me about the terroirs, grapes and winemaking in the Jura. I know that all who have enjoyed their wines over the years, or indeed met these two extraordinary characters on visits to the Jura wine region, will be touched by these losses, as is everyone in the region, or connected with the Jura wine world, to whom they gave so much of their time. View over Les Corvées vineyard above Arbois © Mick Rock, Cephasįirstly, I would like to extend my heartfelt sympathies to their families and friends. Lucien Aviet (known as Bacchus) of Caveau de Bacchus died on 28 th May, aged almost 84. ![]() Pascal Clairet, who ran Domaine de la Tournelle with his wife Evelyne, ended his life aged just 58 on 5 th May. The month of May saw the sad death of two Jura vignerons, who were hugely important figures both locally and internationally.
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