Bonjour Jura!
BY NICOLAS GREINACHER |
The Jura is
a notable wine region sandwiched between Burgundy and Switzerland. Today, it is
firing on all cylinders. This report focuses on impressions from a packed four-day
schedule, torpedoed by a rambling mildew situation that kept winemakers
occupied in their vineyards rather than hosting wine writers. Nonetheless, I evaluated
over 230 wines from vintages stretching back to 1977, made by three dozen wineries.
Readers are invited to consult the comprehensive producer profiles to learn
more about the individual producers I visited.
With this first report of what will be regular yearly coverage of the region, I couldn’t be more excited to share my thoughts on one of the world’s most fascinating wine areas. Because of its close proximity to my home base in Zurich and its convenient location when traveling to Burgundy, I started to visit Jura over ten years ago. While it was Vin Jaune that pulled me in initially, I gradually discovered other Jura styles, such as sparkling, reds or non-oxidatively aged white wines, often referred to as topped-up or ouillé. After covering AOC stats, grape varieties and wine styles, this report tackles the 2023 growing season. I included summaries of the 2022, 2021 and 2020 vintages, as these are the most reported wines. Wrapping up the report is my personal selection of Jura’s finest producers and a brief update on current market conditions.
Sun-kissed Jura vineyards in July 2024.
Bundling Seven AOCs
Encompassing around 2,100 hectares under vine, Jura remains the smallest of France's major wine regions. Before the phylloxera outbreak struck in the late 19th century, Jura was significantly larger, with estimates as high as 20,000 hectares. After the epidemic, the region's vineyards were reduced to just a fraction of their former size, and the area under vine never fully recovered to its pre-phylloxera extent. Although theoretically thousands of additional hectares could be planted today, these lands overlap with the Comté cheese appellation. Prairie lands on hillsides frequently belong to farmers with cows that produce milk for Comté and don't wish to release these plots to plant vines. Due to this AOC overlap, the annual vineyard increase has been well below 50 hectares over the past few years, so Jura will likely remain a small wine region.
Jura comprises seven individual AOCs, of which three are Product-AOCs: Macvin, Marc and Crémant. Macvin is produced by adding Marc du Jura (a regional brandy distilled from grape pomace) to unfermented grape juice, often between 16 to 22% alcohol, with residual sugar frequently between 180 and 220 grams per liter. While I didn’t review wines of the first two categories, I included the Crémants, which have become a major economic driver both domestically and in export markets. The remaining four AOCs are regional, with Arbois being the largest and oldest, producing the full range of wine styles. That said, most of Jura’s red wines are made here. Next is the diverse Côtes du Jura AOC, roughly 30% smaller in size than Arbois AOC, that spreads all across the region. This AOC allows all Jura wine styles, while most are white.
L'Étoile is the second smallest Jura AOC. In English, its name translates to star, which might be linked to either the star-shaped Pentacrinite fossils found in the soil or the star-like configuration of the five hills encircling the small village. Only white wines can be produced here, including Crémant, Vin de Paille and Vin Jaune. Last but not least, the Château-Chalon AOC comprises a mere 54 hectares, exclusively permitting Vin Jaune to be made under its name. While some winemakers, such as François Rousset-Martin, also release topped-up (ouillé) versions, these wines cannot carry Château-Chalon on their label. Others, like Stéphane Tissot, grow small plots of Chardonnay here, but since Château-Chalon admits Savagnin only, the wines are labeled Côtes du Jura.
Could you squeeze in there? A thorough cleaning at Domaine de Montbourgeau.
Jura Grape Varieties: The Big 5
