Selected the ‘First Royal Vineyard of France’ in the year 630, Château d’Arlay has remained in the Laguiche family since the 12th century. Before that time it was owned, at different times, by the Kings of France, Spain and England. These are among a few key reasons why the Château is registered a National Monument. It isn’t only the history buffs coming by every year to visit, however. The Laguiche family knows a thing or two about winemaking…(see also: Montrachet). Count Alain de Laguiche has been at the helm of Château d’Arlay since the early 1980s after taking over for his father, Count Renaud de Laguiche. Today, Alain produces a tremendous lineup of Jurassic wines from their nearly 50 acres of vineyards located just outside the château’s walls.
Interested in keeping things traditional, Alain has kept his lineup of wines easy to follow, even for Côte du Jura!
One of the last, if not THE last, Jura wineries producing a ‘Corail’ (Coral) style wine from all five Jura varietals (Red: Pinot Noir, Poulsard, Trousseau. White: Savagnin, Chardonnay), Alain will tell you that a century ago the overwhelming majority of wines produced were ‘Corail’ with very few reds and whites to be found.