Made from late harvest Savagnin grapes, vin jaune is matured in old oak casks reserved especially for this purpose. It spends a substantial amount of time in the cask – rules of the wine’s production lay down that between harvest and bottling six years and three months must elapse – and what evaporates is not topped up with new wine. This means that some 40% ('the angels’ share') of the wine evaporates by the time it is ready to bottle. Over time a voile, or veil, of yeast forms in the remaining gap, and this film prevents too much oxidation.
Vin jaune is bottled in distinctively shaped 62 cl (21 oz) bottles known as clavelins. Connoisseurs say that, ideally, the wine should be further bottle-aged for at least 10 years before drinking. (The best vintages keep for as long as 100 years or more.)
Many respond positively to this liqueurish, heavy wine, with its nutty, spicy flavors, at first tasting. For others, perhaps expecting something sweeter, it is an acquired taste – or not. British wine expert Hugh Johnson compares the very best vintages to fino sherry (although unlike sherry, yellow wine is not fortified), and opines that of the four appellations (Château-Chalon, Arbois, L’Etoile, and Côtes du Jura), wines produced in the village of Château-Challon are the best. The wine is usually drunk as an aperitif (also on the other side of the border, in the Swiss Jura and Neuchâtel area), or as an accompaniment to cheese such as Comté, but also with local cuisine.
The Yellow Wine Festival
The 2010 festival does honors to the 2003 vintage of vin jaune, with the opening of the first barrels. Visitors pay an entry fee (11 Euros, or about US $16, in 2009) for a glass plus tasting coupons for the two-day event; the stem glass is attached to a holder to suspend around the neck. Besides street attractions – music, theater, exhibits – and a cooking contest, and of course food stands, highlights include an auction of valuable old bottles of vin jaune, and the highly picturesque parade and ceremonies of traditionally-clad winemakers which has the crowd hoisting their glasses and joining in the Vin Jaune Hymn set to the music of My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean. (Refrain: 'Vin jaune, vin jaune, On aime beaucoup le vin jaune, n’est-ce pas ?')
During the festival, some 80 area winemakers are on hand, and their production may be sampled, but not all are vin jaune producers – other Jura wine production, including a varietal called Poulsard, and vin de paille is also presented. Vin de paille (literally, straw wine) is not to be confused with vin jaune. Different types of best-quality grapes can be used to make straw wine; they are selected during the harvest and were originally left to dry naturally on straw mats, hence the name. Nowadays, however, they are more likely to be dried (for several months) in well-ventilated crates stored in a protected space, basically the same as with many passerillé or passito wines. This process makes the water evaporate, and concentrates the sugars, yielding heavy, sweet wine.
The next Percée du Vin Jaune festival takes place on February 6 and 7, 2010 in Poligny, France.
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