Jura

Jura - centuries-old winegrowing tradition

The vineyards of the Jura stretch over 80 km from north to south and are located east of the Côte d'Or on the other side of the wide Saône valley, not far from the Swiss border. In the 19th century, the Jura was still an important region, almost ten times larger than it is today, and over 40 indigenous grape varieties were cultivated there. Then phylloxera struck and decimated almost the entire vine population. Economic crises, wars, and cheaper wines from the south did the rest, causing the region to fall completely into oblivion.
Not so long ago, sommeliers from Paris and Scandinavia rediscovered the wines of the Jura, which today stand for authenticity and character, yet seem almost archaic, which makes them downright progressive because they do not follow the usual industrial wine production methods. The hilly to mountainous terrain is dominated by limestone soils interspersed with loam and clay and encrusted with different colors on the surface. Today, around 2,000 hectares of vines are cultivated in small plots, mostly surrounded by forests and cow pastures, the latter for the milk production of the famous Comté cheese.
Chardonnay is the most widely grown grape variety in the region, but for us, the star is clearly the indigenous Savagnin. This variety is a rarity in terms of versatility and complexity and, with its taut acidity and austere minerality, can create monumental wines in a wide variety of styles. Among the red varieties, the delicate Poulsard has the largest vineyard area, but also the most problems with the climatic changes of recent years. The rustic Trousseau represents the region's powerful and robust wines and is surpassed in quality only by Pinot Noir.

Vinification and styles in the Jura

The region's top winemakers work much like their 19th-century predecessors, only with slightly more modern technology. The vineyards are cultivated organically, with a lot of manual labor and, in some cases, horses. In the cellar, the wines are given the time they need to become harmonious and stable. Fermentation is spontaneous and the wines are aged in used wooden barrels; fortunately, the wooden bombs of Burgundy are not to be found here. The wines are aged on the lees for a long time and bottled without any chemical additives.
However, there are two fundamentally different styles of white wine production, both of which are used by most winemakers. The reductive style is what we are familiar with from other regions; in the Jura, it is called ouillé. This means that the barrels are always topped up so that no oxygen comes into contact with the wine. The special feature in the Jura is the traditional oxidative style, also known as sous voile, typé, tradition, or non ouillé. If one of these terms appears on the label, the barrel has not been refilled and the surface of the wine is covered with flor yeast after a short time. Once the flor layer is closed, it protects the wine from oxidation, but the flor creates a completely different aroma profile. Nutty, spicy, with yeast, brioche, mushrooms, and dried fruit, the complexity is enormous, and the yeasty, brioche-like aroma becomes more intense the longer the wine is aged sous voile.

Vin Jaune – an underrated gem

A wine specialty of the Jura region is Vin Jaune, which comes in a special bottle shape called a clavelin. The nominal volume of 62cl, instead of the usual 75cl, is reserved in Europe exclusively for this wine region and style. The wine is made exclusively from Savagnin grapes, and Vin Jaune must be aged in wooden barrels for at least 6 years and 3 months after fermentation. During this maturation period, a layer of flor yeast forms on the surface because the barrels are not refilled and up to 40% of the contents evaporate. The flor yeast dominates the flavor profile of the finished wine, which is quite similar to a dry sherry, but the Savagnin variety brings more acidity and the best Vin Jaune wines have an intense chalky minerality.