This past Thanksgiving, I had a couple of wine geeks over and rather than serve them my most expensive Napa or Bordeaux, I went with two wines from the Jura. That’s because the Jura is one of the most unique wine regions in the world–a rare challenge and pleasure for any wine geek.
Jura–Region for Wine Geeks
Although I lived just a couple hours away from the Jura wine region across the border in Geneva, I unfortunately didn’t take advantage of getting to know Jura wines as well as I should have. First of all, wines from Jura are not easy to find. In Geneva, they sell mostly Swiss, Italian, Spanish and French wines from more popular regions. Even shopping across the border in nearby Ferney, one can only find a few examples of Jura wines. Secondly, at the time I was still only a lower-intermediate level wine geek–sort of like a WSET 1 for self-learning wine geeks who have already spent too much of their life taking tests and getting degrees to formally jump through the hoops of yet another institution to get another piece of paper. 
However, I did visit the region as a regular tourist and tasted a bit of the local wines and cuisine. Yet, there is so much more to explore, so if we move back to Geneva, I’ll be sure to do more extensive visits and tastings. Based on what I’ve learned so far, here’s why the Jura is a wine region for wine geeks:
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- Vin Jaune. The Jura is one of the few wine regions in the world to specialize in wine aged under a veil of flor (a thin layer of yeast). This layer of yeast is called voile in French. It’s also known as velo de flor in Spanish, since this technique is most popularly used for Sherry. In the Jura, Vin Jaune (literally yellow wine) is a dry, rich but non-fortified (unlike Sherry) white wine aged under a veil of flor that has oxidized notes similar to Fino Sherry.
- Vin de Paille. This literally means “straw wine” in French. This is because to make this sweet wine, they traditionally dried the grapes on straw mats. Nowadays, most use mutage, or stopping fermentation artificially like fortified wines or vin doux naturel. Germany also makes Strohwein, and Italy makes Passito wines in a similar way.
- Vin Typé. At a restaurant in the Jura, I also had the opportunity to taste something they called tradition or also called vin typé. It’s a white wine that they allow to oxidize like vin jaune, but instead of aging 6 years, they are bottled much earlier. This helps producers sell wines that they worry will go bad because the veil of flor is not working. It was one of the strangest wines I’ve ever tasted.
- Macvin. This is a type of Jura wine I’ve never tried. It’s barely fermented grape must, including stems and seeds remaining after pressing. It turns into a spicy wine liqueur.
- Different Varieties. Besides all these strange wine types, they have less common varieties as well. The three local, traditional varieties are Poulsard (or Ploussard), Trousseau and Savagnin. Savagnin is used to make the Vin Jaune while Vin de Paille can be made with white or red varieties. They also make a lot of Chardonnay, which is called Gamay Blanc or Melon d’Arbois locally. There’s also some Pinot Noir and Gamay Noir. Besides the traditional wine types, you can also find Crémant du Jura (local sparkling wines) and regular dry, still, non-oxidized varietal or blended wines. Crémant du Jura sparkling wines are made using the traditional method and often with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Citadel of Besancon
- Underrated Tourist Destination. The Jura is generally not the first region tourists have on their list when visiting France. However, there’s lots to see and do. Arbois and Besancon are pretty towns and have interesting histories with famous former residents like Louis Pasteur, the Lumiere Brothers and Victor Hugo. It’s fitting they make wines with layers of yeasts coming from bacteria and fungi given microbiologist Pasteur also lived in the region. Arbois also has some of the best restaurants in the country. You have to try their Coq au Vin made with Vin Jaune and Morilles (Morel mushrooms). This region is also where they make Morbier and Comté cheese. There are also UNESCO sites like the Citadel of Besancon. You can ski. You can hike. You can visit lakes and castles too.
- Dinosaur Terroir. In the Jura, there’s a cute dinosaur park you can take the kids to because the term “Jurassic” period is named after where it was first studied on the limestone and marl soils of the Jura mountains. Besides dinosaurs, it was this period when the landmass Pangea split into two continents and some areas were flooded, forming inland seas. This unique geographical history gives the Jura unique soil types for literally growing grapes over 150-200 million years old fossils of dinosaurs and marine creatures. In fact, some say the wine appellation l’Etoile is named after the star-shaped sea fossils in this cool climate region.
Dino Zoo near Besancon
- Small Production. The wine production in this region is small. Only about 11 million bottles are made annually. In comparison, Burgundy makes around 200 million and Bordeaux around 500 million. Jura wines are not always easy to find even in France.
- Natural Wine. Given that it’s not a well-known region internationally, it’s had more freedom to both keep its traditions and styles while also being pioneers in the organic and natural wine movement. This is yet another reason why Jura wine is so coveted by wine geeks, but unfortunately that also means the prices have gone up.
I found two Jura wines here in Santiago. One represents the natural wine movement in the area and one of the local red grapes. The second is unique because it’s a local white variety made in a less typical way for the region.
Cascade des Tufs near Arbois
Tasting Notes
NV Philippe Bornard Tant Mieux Vin de Table Petillant Rosé Jura
A Ploussard (Poulsard) rosé Pet Nat, so it’s a natural wine except for a bit of sulfur before bottling for export. Poulsard is naturally light red in color and flavor. It can be made into reds, whites (because of its light skins), rosés, or sparkling wines. It can also be blended with other grapes like Trousseau, Gamay or Pinot Noir. 8.5% alcohol.
Lots of foam. More like a beer. Fruity nose with some yeast. Simple but pleasant, low acid red and purple berry fruit on the palate. I would categorize it as fairly dry for a sparkling. Fruity but not sweet. I didn’t rate this Pet Nat because I haven’t had enough Pet Nats in my experience.
2018 Montbourgeau L’Étoile Savagnin Ouillé Les Budes
Savagnin from Jura is more famous for being made into Vin Jaune, which uses a veil of yeast to make an oxidized, rich style of white wine. However, in this case, the Savagnin is fermented and aged 2 years in topped-up, used barrels which means less exposure to oxygen. This technique/style is locally called Ouillé.
Exotic nose. It’s hard to describe. It’s kind of bready, yeasty. Minerally. Touch of caramel. A bit floral. White stone fruit. Medium+ bodied. Round. Good acid. Concentrated and full, yet fresh and light. On the second day, mild oxidation, not like Vin Jaune, but still more like an aged white and/or one aged in oak. Liked it better the first day with more fruit and freshness than the second day. 93