Les Valseuses

Meet Antoine Le Court and Julia Naar of Les Valseuses, whose story begins with a meet-cute in Brazil; Le Court the flying French winemaker, Julia the local French translator.

While working a vintage with Jauma's James Erskine in the Adelaide Hills, Antoine shared in a bottle of L’Octavin Les Corvées and it immediately drew him to the Jura. Also working that vintage was Nuria Renom, who happened to know Alice Bouvot and made an introduction between she and Antoine. It was this chance alignment that set forth Le Court’s adventures in the Jura, where eventually Les Valseuses was born.

When searching for a place to make wine in the future and store excess wine from an unexpectedly abundant 2018 harvest, a glorious 18th century farmhouse in Les Planches-près-Arbois found them instead. They began restoring what is now their beautiful homestay Casa Antolia, and making wine in the cellar beneath. Casa Antolia’s foundations date back to 1765 and you can really feel it walking up the steps to the front door, or swilling a glass of wine in the cellar.

Antoine has quickly become recognised as one of the region’s most innovative young winemakers whose Les Valseuses wines have an individual character. Drawing from Bouvot and other négociants like Anthony Tortul of La Sorga, the wines are made from fruit grown all over France. Le Court’s approach to picking fruit early and using long macerations and red and white blends creates wines that are focused, mineral-driven and extremely fresh.

But these négociant wines are just a (delicious) taste of what’s to come for Les Valseuses. Antoine and Julia recently started farming a tiny 0.06ha plot in the lower part of the famed plot Les Corvées and have purchased a small near their home in Les Planches where they’ll plant a vineyard in the near future.