Spiced strawberry, intense cinnamon, orange extract. Beaming red cherry, potpourri, wild raspberry. Red carnations and rose hips, star anise and earl grey. Dirty funky berries join forces with red licorice and currants, only to be completely overwhelmed by a cavalcade of highly aromatic mulling spices. Nutmeg, ginseng, and cardamom blast with authority through quartz, copper penny, and a derelict barn only to reach their final resting place buried deep in decomposing earth. Funky, fresh, and fierce - with more dimensions than Inception. This 2015 Les Grands Vergers Trousseau by Michel Gahier is lively, expressive, and intellectual wine from Jura.

The cool-climate region region of Jura, located in France between Burgundy and the Swiss border, is a little-known growing zone that today is made up of primarily small artisanal producers. However, it was once one of the largest wine producing regions in the country. Unfortunately devastation by phylloxera and other political factors drastically lowered production in the region, but it is still the source of a number of wonderful and unique wines and is again growing in reputation. This bottling, crafted by Michel Gahier using 100% Trousseau from a single old-vine vineyard in Arbois, is an extremely compelling example of the Jura region and its flagship red grape. It possesses a wonderfully wild and untamed fruit profile that is complemented by the most unique and pronounced notes of expressive holiday spice. Merely medium in body, this wine is earthy and terroir driven with noticeable tannin and a zing of acidity. Completely contemplative and interesting to its core, this is a wine you will either absolutely love or completely disdain. We happen to be obsessed.