Jura: What About The Future?

“Chardonnay was in the Jura before Savagnin,” claims Stéphane Tissot, “and it reflects the differences in our soils with more nuance than Savagnin.” For consumers who associate this French region on the northwestern foothills of the Alps principally with Vin Jaune, his statement may come as a surprise. The local authorities, though, agree completely. They see Chardonnay as the future of the appellation and are paying producers to rip out old vineyards planted with Poulsard and Trousseau and replace them with Burgundian clones. “This is ridiculous,” believes Jean-François Ganevat, who loves those two indigenous red varieties, “not only because we are losing part of our heritage, but because the government will only pay for clones, not massale selections, which are much better.”

Domaine Tissot's La Tour du Curon Vineyard 

A Little Historical Perspective

Sadly, the Jura has already lost a large part of its vinous history. Before Phylloxera struck in the late 19th century some 20,000 hectares of vineyards covered the southern slopes of these gentle hillsides. Today, only 1,600 remain—and were it not for Henri Maire, who with money from the Marshall Plan almost singlehandedly saved the region from extinction, there would probably be considerably less. While collectors turn up their noses when they hear mention of his Vin Fou, the sparkling wine with which he paid the bills, all of the local growers I have met remain grateful for what he did. “For years, he bought all of our grapes,” explained Raphaël Fumey. “Were it not for him, most of us would have gone out of business.”

Jean-Francois Ganevat in his cellar

Today, the Henri Maire estate makes wines only from their own 250 hectares of vineyards. The brand, however, has fallen on hard times since Henri Maire himself passed away. Earlier this year, it was purchased by Jean-Claude Boisset, a négociant based in Nuits-Saint-Georges. The role of the region’s largest buyer of grapes is now played by La Compagnie des Grands Vins, better known to most in the wine trade as Les Grands Chais du France. The other major player is Fruitière Viticole, the largest co-operative in this otherwise small region. For the moment, though, the headlines are made by smaller growers like Stéphane Tissot, Jean-François Ganevat and Laurent Macle, whose wines embody the potential of the region.

Varietals, Terroirs and Microclimates