Jura: What
About The Future?

“Chardonnay was
in the Jura before Savagnin,” claims <a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/multimedia/a-conversation-with-stephane-tissot-jul-2015">Stéphane Tissot</a>, “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.”<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1435674721623-Photograph+La+Tour+du+Curon+vineyard+of+Domaine+Tissot.jpg"> Domaine Tissot's&nbsp;La Tour du Curon Vineyard&nbsp; 

A Little Historical PerspectiveSadly, 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.”

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1435674770340-Photograph+Jean-Francois+Ganevat.jpg">Jean-Francois Ganevat in his cellarToday, 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 Those who see
Chardonnay as the region’s future often point to the similarities between the
Jura and the Côte d’Or. In both appellations, the vineyards run from northeast
to southwest above the Saône River. The vineyards in Burgundy largely face
south and east, while those in the Jura face south and west. Yes, the best
Chardonnay produced here can compete with the finest from Chablis or Meursault,
but there are major differences. Most of the heart of Burgundy is on vertical
fault blocks that feature exposed, very chalky soils from the Jurassic period.
The vineyards in the Jura, on the other hand, are largely on rolling hills that
slipped down the Alps towards the plains of the Bresse, bringing large amounts&nbsp;of marl
from the Triassic era to surface. As the vineyards in both regions are planted
on a mixture of these two types of soil, what does that mean? Burgundy is
predominantly limestone, the Jura mostly chalky clay.&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1435674873843-Photograph+Vineyards+in+Pupillin+in+winter.jpg">Vineyards in Pupillin. Snow is manageable in the winter, but rain in other parts of the year can be&nbsp;problematic

Further, on
average the Jura receives almost 50% more rain than Burgundy. As most of the
showers arrive from the west, this should come as no surprise. The clouds blow
over Beaune and, blocked by the Alps, drop their water in Arbois. A drier
region like Alsace would welcome more precipitation, but the Jura sees&nbsp;a meter of
rain each year, which&nbsp;can wreak havoc during flowering, engender disease in the
summer, and dilute the grapes at harvest.

Given these
weather conditions, it is not surprising that Savagnin accounts for a full
quarter of total plantings. Although it ripens late, its thick skin, high
natural acidity and unique flavors have long made it the Jura’s unique sales
proposition. Not only does Savagnin seldom suffer from mildew or grey rot, it thrives
on the marl soils that are so common here. Given its proclivity to develop flor, a film of yeast on the surface of a
young wine in cask, Savagnin was once thought to have come from Jerez in Spain, but
genetic studies have now proven that it is identical to Traminer. Not only
that, the variety originated here and not, as was long thought, in the southern
Tyrol region of what is now northern Italy. Further, Dr. José Vouillamoz, the
renowned father of modern genetic tracking, considers Savagnin to be one of the
founder varieties and thus the ancestor of a host of other grapes, including
the local red Trousseau.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1435677045726-Photograph+Entrance+to+Domaine+Macle+in+Chateau+Chalon.jpg"> 62 cl Clavelin bottles are&nbsp;used in&nbsp;Château-Chalon for the&nbsp;white wine made with&nbsp;Savagnin in the Vin Jaune style

Known in Spain
and Portugal as Bastardo, and widely planted in the Dão, Trousseau is, like its
brother Poulsard, no longer in fashion. “It needs gravelly soils,” explained
Jacques Puffeney. “Otherwise it tends to rot.” What sells today is not only
Crémant du Jura, but also Macvin. The latter is a beverage much like Ratafia in
Cognac, but it must be made with the marc
of the same wine and is only allowed to be sold by smaller estates. “It pays
for the children’s schooling,” said Raphaël Fumey as he proposed a last glass
after we had finished our tasting.

While many of
his colleagues are scaling back their production of Macvin, almost all see a
future in Crémant. Not only is it a competitively priced alternative to Champagne
but the base wines can be cropped at levels that are profitable, harvested
early before the rains, and turned into bubbles by a third party that controls
the process. The finest examples, though, like the BBF from Stéphane Tissot, are
made in the style of growers Champagnes.The&nbsp;Risky Road to&nbsp;Vin Jaune&nbsp;

Everywhere you
turn in the Jura, there is mention of Louis Pasteur, the region’s favorite son.
Not only did he famously say that wine is the healthiest and most hygienic of
beverages, his work on micro-organisms greatly facilitated the average vintner’s
life. It is often forgotten that his recommendation of what we today called the
pasteurization of musts to prevent bacterial spoilage was once a common
practice and even became extremely popular in the late 19th century in
California, where the nascent industry held him in reverence.&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1435676698436-Louis-Pasteur.jpg"> Renowned French chemist Louis Pasteur, painted by Albert Edelfelt in 1885, advanced a number of key scientific theories&nbsp; 

It was Pasteur's work
on Vin Jaune, however, that truly advanced this region’s fame. Understanding
how the voile, the French term for
flor, developed enabled local producers to make more Vin Jaune and less
vinegar, both of which are induced by layers of yeast that settle on the
surface of a wine in cask. Mycroderma
vini is a savior, Mycroderma aceti
a pest.

While
scientists today know more about the nature of these two yeasts, they still
have not found any efficient or effective way to control them. For that reason,
every barrel of wine starting down the long road to becoming Vin Jaune is
tested twice a year to monitor its development. Any barrels that are not maturing
properly are quickly pulled from the program and put to other use. For smaller
growers, this may mean the difference between, after the required six years of
cask aging, producing three or only one barrel of Vin Jaune in any given
vintage. Sometimes it is even none.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1435676178321-Photograph+Cathusian+cellar+at+Domaine+Pignier+in+Montaigu.jpg"> Cathusian cellars at Domaine Pignier in Montaigu 

Whether they
are in Arbois, Château Chalon or L’Étoile, the three sub-appellations of the
Côtes du Jura, each estate has its own ideas on the desired temperature and
humidity fluctuations necessary in the cellar to achieve the best results for
Vin Jaune. All, though, bottle it in the 62-centiliter Clavelin, which is more
or less what is left from one liter of Savagnin after six years of maturation.
As this bottle size is not allowed to be sold in the United States, American
consumers must sneak their favorite wines home in their own luggage if they
want to taste these expressions of the Jura.Overview of&nbsp;Recent Vintages for Vin Jaune

According to
Stéphane Tissot, “both 2009 and 2005 worked well for Vin Jaune.” He then added
that “sometimes the little vintages can be excellent. Ironically, those that
are great for Chardonnay might not work at all.”

Whether 2014
will be one of those remains to be seen, but it was a difficult vintage. As
Jean-François Ganevat observed, “there was too little sun in the summer and too
much rain in the winter.” Francois Duvivier from Domaine du Pélican, on the
other hand, was happy with both the quantity and the quality, showing how
disparate the results can be between the northern and southern parts of this
small region.

Two thousand
thirteen was equally chaotic. Everything ended better than expected, “but it was
certainly a better vintage for the reds than the whites,” observed Stéphane
Tissot. “But it will not be a vintage to lay down,” added Jacques Puffeney. The
last of that ilk was 2011, which was good for both colors. <img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1435676318901-Photograph+Emmanuel+Houillon+and+Pierre+Overnoy+in+their+vineyards.jpg"> Emmanuel Houillon and Pierre Overnoy in their vineyards 

A Slow&nbsp;Changing of the Guard

Along with
Pierre Overnoy and Jean Macle, Jacques Puffeney was one of the diehards of the
past generation. They were, if you will, the three musketeers of their
generation, fighting for quality in an era in which price and volume ruled. Not
only were they at the forefront of more organic ways of farming, they also
introduced low- and no-sulfur regimes that not only inspired the current
generation of winemakers but have also become almost the norm in the Jura
today. Indeed, there are few regions in France—or for that matter in the world—where
so many estates are biodynamic and so many wines are bottled with no added
sulfur. While I admire the former practice, I have often had problems with the
latter, especially if the wines are not stable. Uncontrolled oxidation is not
my thing. Perhaps, though, this region’s long experience with the oxidative
production methods of Vin Jaune has taught them a lesson that others might want
to learn if they toe to that orange line. In any case, I have seldom tasted as
many good examples of wines bottled with no sulfur anywhere else. However, how
stable they will be after transport and storage in a third party’s cellar I do
not know.

Sadly, 2014
will be Jacques Puffeney’s last vintage. He is retiring this year, but none of
his children were interested in assuming the responsibilities of the estate. He
thus sold most of his vineyards to the neighboring Domaine du Pélican. Owned by
Guillaume Marquis d’Angerville and Francois Duvivier, it is the first time that
a renowned estate from Burgundy has set up shop here and certainly bodes well
for the future. Puffeney must secretly hope that a phoenix will rise from his
ashes.--Joel B. Payne

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