The Jura
Vintage image sourced on Pinterest
The Jura is just a tiny little region, but it’s gained international notoriety in recent years as wine aficionados have discovered just how special these wines are. There aren’t many places in the world with so many different and entirely individual wines packed into such a small area.
When I visited Jura for the Percée du Vin Jaune in 2019, the streets of Lons-le-Saunier were bustling and my friends and I ducked down into cellars to taste the newest vintage of Vin Jaune, the Jura’s famous aged white wine. Banners streamed across the streets, music and laughter abounded, and informal parades, costumes and Comté cheeses of all ages were everywhere. There were sandwiches of Morbier and Morteau to fortify you between tastings, and when we left the city to visit producers, we were immediately transported to bucolic settings, complete with adorably chunky and floppy-eared pet bunnies welcoming us before tastings.
The sparkling Crémants punched well above their weight class, the whites were powerful and the reds were delicate. I savored every second and would go back in a heartbeat. Consider this tasting your chance to experience the best of the Jura from wherever you are.
Stuff to know
The Jura wine region isn’t a big one, but its wines are idiosyncratic, diverse and most important (at least to me), memorable. The Jura gets its name from the Jura mountains that define the region, which practically mirrors Burgundy, lying about an hour’s drive to the east across the Bresse plain, amidst the western-facing foothills of the Jura mountains between Burgundy and Switzerland.
Burgundy and the Jura share grape varieties and winemaking styles, a focus on bottling individual parcels with old vines or special terroir, and clay-limestone soils…but while Burgundy is mainstream, Jura is quirky, like a wine geek’s deep cut.
For context, Burgundy, considered a small-ish region in France, has about 74,100 acres (30,000 hectares) of vineyards, while the Jura has about 4,900 acres (2,000 hectares) under vine. The Jura is tiny. It wasn’t always like this though; the Jura is about one tenth the size today that it was before phylloxera hit Europe. In fact, Arbois, the Jura’s oldest appellation, was one of France’s first-ever wine AOCs (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée), gaining its designation alongside Châteauneauf-du-Pape, Tavel, Cassis and Monbazillac in 1936.
The Jura might not have ever recovered its size, but it certainly didn’t lose its flavor. Jura today is known for its traditions, old vines, focus on terroir, organic and biodynamic production, and winemaking with minimal intervention. That isn’t to say that every producer in the Jura practices every one of these things, just that they’re all commonplace in the region today.
This tasting focuses on the still wines of the Jura, made from the five different grape varieties (Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard, Pinot Noir and Trousseau) and the region’s famous Vin Jaune, which was the reason behind my first visit to the Jura for the Percée du Vin Jaune in 2019, when I was living an hour’s drive away in Dijon, France.
Aside from the still wines, each described individually below, the Jura produces increasing amounts of sparkling Crémant du Jura wines, as well as still rosé wines, sweet Vin de Paille wines made from carefully dried grapes and a liqueur called Macvin du Jura that can be white, red or rosé. Much like in Alsace, every producer we visited had a whole array of wines to taste. All before indulging in the region’s local delicacies, like Comté and Morbier cheese, Morteau and Montbéliard sausages and the pièce du résistance: Poulet au Vin Jaune et Morilles, which I swear you can smell even from across the street of the best restaurants whenever someone opens the door.
What to look for in this tasting
The Jura’s most famous wine is its Vin Jaune, a wine made from white Savagnin grapes and aged for 6 years and 3 months in barrels without any winemaking intervention, so that a naturally forming voile (veil) of yeast forms on the surface of the wine that is exposed to oxygen inside oak barrels, in a process similar to biologically aged Sherry, just without fortification or a solera system. Vin Jaune wines are very dry, and have powerful flavors that come from this special aging process, like hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, dried mushrooms, saline and baking spices.
While Vin Jaune will have these flavors in spades, traditionally made Chardonnay and Savagnin wines in the Jura can also have flavors from oxidative and sous voile (under the veil of yeast) aging, which will blend with other, more expected, flavors like apple, lemon, pineapple, fresh cream or butter. This is because traditionally made Jura white wines undergo some amounts of aging either oxidatively and/or sous voile, while modern styles avoid oxygen contact entirely by topping up barrels, ensuring there’s no headspace at the top.
Modern, or ouillé (”ooh-yay”), styles of Chardonnay and Savagnin wines tend to have flavors of apple, lemon, pineapple, fresh cream or butter with a minerality that might smell and taste like wet slate or crushed gravel.
As for the reds, given that this is a cool climate wine region, the red wines all tend to have high levels of punchy, refreshing acidity, though their respective structures and flavors vary. Poulsard wines are the lightest of the bunch, almost rosé-like in their appearance, structure and flavors. Pinot Noir falls in the middle, with a light body and silky tannins, while Trousseau wines are the biggest of the bunch, which is relative considering that these wines are still typically only medium-bodied with soft tannins. Flavor-wise, red fruits tend to dominate across all three of the Jura’s reds, though there are plenty of other floral, spice and earthy aromas and flavors that keep things interesting.
The wines
#1: Jura Chardonnay
Chardonnay is the most-grown grape in the Jura, used in both Crémant and still wines. There are two primary styles of still, dry Chardonnay in the Jura: traditional and ouillé (”ooh-yay”).
Traditional Jura Chardonnay wines undergo an aging process similar to the region’s famed Vin Jaune wines, though nowhere near as lengthy. Some producers, like Domaine de Montbourgeau, make bottlings like the L’Étoile Cuvée Speciale, which ages for 4-5 years under a thin film of yeast, the voile (veil) that creates Vin Jaune wines in a process similar to biologically aged Sherry. Other producers age their wines oxidatively, avoiding topping up barrels so that the wine’s surface is exposed to air, rather than the veil of yeast, for shorter periods of time. Thanks to these aging processes, traditional Jura Chardonnays will have deep yellow-gold coloring and flavors like walnuts, ginger, almonds, hazelnuts, saline or dried mushrooms that blend with the flavors you might be more familiar with in a Chardonnay wine, like golden apples, lemon, pineapple, fresh cream or butter.
Ouillé Chardonnay wines have become more popular in recent years in the Jura, especially as winemakers trained to make Burgundian Chardonnay have brought their methods to the region. These modern-style wines are not oxidatively aged, but are still typically barrel-aged, so you can expect to find flavors of acacia, golden apple, white peach, pineapple, fresh cream and butter, often with a mineral backbone, like wet slate or crushed gravel.
There are unoaked styles of Chardonnay made in the Jura, too, though they may be harder to find.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): A Chardonnay and Savagnin blend from the Jura
#2: Jura Savagnin
Savagnin (”suh-van-yan”) is a very old French grape variety, old enough to be a genetic parent to a whole host of other grape varieties, including Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Trousseau and others. It’s also related to Traminer, best known around the village of Tramin in Italy’s Alto Adige.
In the Jura, Savagnin is prized as the sole grape variety used to make Vin Jaune wines, but there are also plenty of still, dry Savagnin wines that aren’t aged for the full 6 years and 3 months under a veil of yeast that is required to make Vin Jaune.
Like Jura Chardonnay, there are traditional and modern styles of Savagnin. Traditional styles are usually oxidative, meaning that barrels of wine are not topped up, leaving oxygen in contact with the wine. Some also undergo aging under a voile (veil) - the thin film of yeast that develops naturally in barrels with headspace allowing oxygen contact, a process similar to biologically aged Sherry. These aging processes add flavors like walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, dried mushrooms, ginger and saline to these high-acidity wines.
Ouillé (”ooh-yay”) styles of Savagnin are a more modern addition, wines that are aged without any oxygen contact, so that there are flavors of acacia, lemon and green apple.
Some Jura winemakers make unoaked Savagnin wines, and others have also begun experimenting with skin contact, or orange, winemaking methods with Savagnin, particularly since it’s a thick-skinned grape with a lot of aromatic flavor to offer, similar to Gewurztraminer.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): A Chardonnay and Savagnin blend from the Jura, or a Savagnin from Australia, Argentina or California
#3: Jura Poulsard
Poulsard (”pool-sar”) is native to the Jura and pretty rare, since there just aren’t that many acres (hectares) planted. Poulsard grapes, which also go by Ploussard, are very thin-skinned, making light-bodied red wines that are pale enough that they’re sometimes sold as rosés. Even with a long maceration, Poulsard wines will remain pale.
As you might have guessed, Poulsard wines are delicate and aromatic with very light, subtle tannins and bright acidity. There are darker and spicier flavors than you might expect in these wines, given their pale color and delicate nature. Expect to find flavors of roses, violets, strawberries, raspberries and cherries alongside blackberries, freshly ground black pepper, wet leaves and smoke. There’s more than meets the eye in these wines.
What to ask for: Ask by style name
Alternative(s): A blend of Poulsard with Pinot Noir and/or Trousseau from the Jura, Poulsard wine from Savoie or Switzerland
#4: Jura Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir, native to Burgundy, is one of the world’s most planted red wine grapes, with styles ranging from delicate and aromatic to fruity and plush. In the Jura, a cool northern continental region, much like Burgundy, the vintage is everything, since the weather can vary widely from year to year…but you can still usually expect the wines to be on the delicate and aromatic side.
Expect to find light-bodied Pinot Noir wines with silky, almost weightless tannins and tangy acidity, often with aromas and flavors of violets, cranberries, red currants and cherries along with wet leaves and cinnamon spice.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): A blend of Pinot Noir with Poulsard and/or Trousseau from the Jura
#5: Jura Trousseau
Trousseau (”true-sew”) is native to the Jura and has absolutely nothing to do with the other use of the word trousseau, which you might know of as the old tradition of preparing a chest full of clothes, linens and other things for a bride before her marriage. Growing up in the United States, I used the name “hope chest” more often than trousseau, often coming across them as antiques brought over by European immigrants starting new lives overseas.
Trousseau, the grape, even has another, less flattering name: Bastardo, which I’ve heard is either due to the fact that Bastardo is grown in Portugal, where it’s not a native (and is therefore an illegitimate) grape, or the fact that it’s just a pain to grow.
Trousseau wines in the Jura are the most structured of the reds, with more tannin, color and alcohol - and therefore more body - than the Poulsards or Pinots. That said, we’re still in a cool climate wine region, so these wines tend to be on the medium-bodied side with pronounced acidity.
Expect to find aromas and flavors of poppies and violets, raspberries, red currants and strawberries, freshly ground black pepper, cloves, wet leaves and sometimes even smoke and cured meats.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Trousseau wine from California
#6: Vin Jaune
Since Vin Jaune (”van zhone”) can only be made in Jura, we can skip the regional clarifier. Vin Jaune, which translates to “yellow wine,” but is better known as the “gold of the Jura,” is the region’s claim to international wine fame…and the reason I first visited Jura. Every year, on the first weekend in February, there’s a festival called the Percée du Vin Jaune: a celebration of the new vintage, during which the new Vin Jaune casks are tapped and everyone gets a taste.
Vin Jaune wines are white wines made from carefully selected Savagnin grapes, but it’s really the aging process that makes them so unique. After fermentation, the wines go into oak barrels, where they are left entirely alone for 6 years and 3 months. This long wait is what makes the annual festival so special. It’s a pretty big deal to finally get to taste a wine more than 6 years in the making. While the wine is in the oak barrel, a thin film of yeast called the voile (veil) forms on surface, quite similar to the flor that creates biologically aged Sherry. This film of yeast contributes intense flavors of hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, dried mushrooms, saline and baking spices to the wine over time, blending with flavors of apples, sultanas, saffron and ginger. The yeast also makes the wine very, very dry as it consumes sugar over time, and the wines turn a deep yellow, sometimes golden color as they age. Naturally, there’s a certain amount of evaporation, too, so the amount of wine that went in is always more than what eventually comes out, making these wines an expensive and time-consuming process to produce.
Vin Jaune wines are sold in distinctive bottles called a clavelin, which hold 620 mL, representing what’s left from the original liter of wine after years of aging. Before legislation passed earlier this year, most American importers couldn’t even get Vin Jaune wines into the country, since the Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) previously didn’t allow imports of this oddly-sized bottle, which doesn’t fit neatly into the 750 mL (standard), 350 mL (half) and 500 mL approved sizes.
Now that these wines are more available the world over, it’s high time to give them a try.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Stick with a Vin Jaune from any part of the Jura, such as the traditional Château-Chalon AOC, or a Vin Jaune from the Arbois, L’Étoile or Côtes du Jura AOCs
Tasting tips
The eats
Much like Boeuf Bourguignon is Burgundy’s signature dish, the Poulet au Vin Jaune et Morilles (chicken with Vin Jaune and morel mushrooms) is the Jura’s. It’s a decadent dish, the kind that takes hours to make, as the flavors slowly meld and become something greater than their parts. In the Jura, the famed Bresse chickens with their characteristic blue feet are the star component, while the morel mushrooms and Vin Jaune wine contribute flavor galore. If you want to go all-in on this Jura theme for your tasting, this is the dish to serve, even better with a potato and Comté gratin.
If you’re looking for something more casual, consider busting out your waffle maker and adding a bit of Jura Chardonnay or Vin Jaune and Comté cheese to your usual buttery waffle recipe, and then offer up bacon, parsley, crème fraîche and even more shredded Comté as toppings. Alternatively, deck out your go-to Mac & Cheese recipe with Comté to give it a Jura twist.
If you choose the charcuterie route, please include Comté and Morbier, since both cheeses are from the Jura. If you can get some of the Jura’s Morteau or Montbéliard sausages where you live, even better. If not, add some cured ham, Gruyère, Raclette de Savoie or Tomme de Savoie along with crackers, baguettes, figs, pecans and toasted hazelnuts and almonds.
The prep
While this tasting is focused on the still wines from the Jura, I highly recommend serving a glass of Crémant du Jura as an apéritif before getting things underway.
The Jura is a small region, which inevitably means that these wines might be more difficult to find, depending on where you live. It’s worth giving your guests at least 2 weeks to find their wines for this tasting.
Price-wise, the Jura’s caché has increased in recent years, but the wines are still usually approachably priced and affordable. It’s up to you as a host if you want to set a spending range, or let your guests decide what works for them. I will note though that Vin Jaune wines tend to be pricier, since the making them is costly and takes at least 6 years and 3 months, which is a pretty long time to wait to have any wine to sell.
For the white wines, encourage your guests to give their wines some pre-tasting fridge time, since it’s best if the wines are chilled…but not too chilled. Lightly chilled is generally the goal here, so if the wines didn’t get their fridge time before arrival, just keep the ice bucket dunk time brief, since you’ll want to enjoy the texture, not just the flavors, of these wines and that’s difficult to do when they’re ice cold. For the Vin Jaune in particular, a light chill is best.
For the reds, which are light- to medium-bodied, it’s also best to serve these with a bit of a chill. If you’ve never walked down into a winemaker’s cellar and felt the chill and damp, just think about what it feels like on a brisk autumn day. A bottle that’s just cool to the touch, that’s the goal.
A note on the tasting order: The wines are listed in the order of which should be included first. If you have fewer than 6 wines/guests, you’ll still have a well-rounded experience. However, the order in which you taste the wines, regardless of how many wines are included, is recommended as follows:
Jura Chardonnay
Jura Savagnin
Jura Poulsard
Jura Pinot Noir
Jura Trousseau
Vin Jaune
