White Jura Wines
Still white wines from the Jura: ouillé Chardonnay and Savagnin, Savagnin sous voile, a skin-macerated white and Vin de Paille.
What defines white Jura
The Jura's whites come from Chardonnay and the region's own Savagnin, on marl and limestone. What sets them apart is how they are aged. An ouillé wine is kept topped up in barrel, as elsewhere, and stays fresh: orchard fruit, citrus, hazelnut and a saline finish. A wine aged sous voile is left in barrel without topping up, under a veil of yeast that forms on the surface; it develops walnut, curry and dried fruit notes in the register of fino sherry, though it is not fortified. This is the method behind Vin Jaune.
The styles we hold
Domaine des Marnes Blanches, founded in 2006 by Pauline and Géraud Fromont in the Sud-Revermont, makes single-parcel ouillé wines: Chardonnay from En Levrette, Les Molates and Les Normins, and Savagnin from Aux Bois, En Jensillard, En Quatre Vis and Les Molates, so one parcel can be read through two grapes. It also makes a skin-macerated En Quatre Vis, bottled as Vin de France, and a Vin de Paille, from grapes dried on straw before pressing. Bénédicte and Stéphane Tissot, at Montigny-lès-Arsures, certified biodynamic by Demeter since 2004, contribute Chardonnay Patchwork and En Barberon and a Savagnin sous voile. Jacques Tissot adds an Arbois Chardonnay.
How to choose and serve
Start with an ouillé Chardonnay, then taste a Savagnin sous voile: the jump between the two is the clearest way into the region. Serve between 12 and 14 °C, the Vin de Paille cooler. Ouillé whites suit grilled fish and goat cheese; sous voile wines suit Comté, poultry with morels and curry; Vin de Paille suits blue cheese and fruit desserts.
Jura reds, Crémant du Jura and Vin Jaune are listed in their own collections.