NEWS
See Patrice of Domaine Hughes Beguet at a Jura wine-tasting event in Central London
on May 14.
We're looking for an established UK importer/agent to take over.
Now officially bio-dynamic as well as organic.
Hughes Beguet Wines
Top quality, organically-grown, AOC wines from the Jura in France.
Produced by a qualified oeneologist, on the AOC panel.
Rather special, like the bottles......
About us
Hughes Beguet Wines is the UK outlet for Domaine Hughes Beguet based just outside Arbois, a delightful wine town in the Jura, about 40 miles East of Burgundy.
Patrice Beguet (photographed in his vines, below) married Caroline Hughes at Lympne Castle, Kent in 2005. An IT Consultant then based in Paris, Patrice had long nurtured the thought of wine production back home in the Jura and he decided to pursue his dream by signing up for a 2-year Oeneology course at Montpellier University. Here his skills as a blending expert were recognised and he even won first prize nationally for his final dissertation.
At the beginning of 2009 Patrice acquired sufficient vines to commence production. In the meantime he had made the decision, despairing of the volumes of chemicals used on vines, to pursue an organic system where only non-systemic, copper- and sulphur-based and herbal sprays are used. In the region where Louis Pasteur made his name, this approach does not necessarily make for an easy life but the first vendanges produced a good crop, many wines of which have gone on to obtain local and national accolades. An amateur video of the first day of picking is shown in the Gallery.
Hughes Beguet wines from 2010 are now officially Agriculture Biologique (AB) en conversion, and the 2012 crop will be officially AB - not unique in the Jura, but very much in the minority.
So, most importantly, what do the wines taste like?
Well, there a number of grape varieties grown almost solely in the Jura due to its altitude of around 300m, namely Ploussard, Savagnin (no relation to Sauvignon), Trousseau and the more familiar Chardonnay! Whilst experiencing wonderful summer days, the grapes do not receive the intense sunshine of the South and so the Reds are lighter and more delicate but nevertheless full of flavour, whilst the Whites are dry and crisp. Patrice’s Rosé is very light pink, dry, with hints of grapefruit. Tasting notes are provided on the "Our wines" page. We are happy to advise restaurateurs of foods to match the selections and already, only some 18 months since the first bottles appeared, Hughes Beguet wines are available in some 30 restaurants including six with Michelin stars, and one with a "rising star" in the UK.
A 237 year-old bottle of Jura wine sold in 2011 for €57,000. Buy now to avoid disappointment!!
Contact me if you would like to arrange tastings in Kent or to provide samples for serious buyers. Otherwise please telephone or email to order.
Contact Details
Trevor Hughes
Hughes Beguet Wines
1 Octavian Drive
Lympne
Hythe
Kent
CT21 4JG
tjh@ismltd.co.uk
01303 266957
To learn more see www.hughesbeguet.com or view the blog http://ashbywines.blogspot.com/
NY Times take on Jura wines http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/dining/23pour.html Wink's blog http://alturl.com/wkxu4
