Côtes du Jura

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The appellation is situated in the natural region of the Revermont, bounded to the east by the first limestone plateau of the Jura massif at an average altitude of 550 metres and to the west by the plain of the Bresse graben.
• The vineyard extends discontinuously over a band 80 kilometres long and 2 to 5 kilometres wide, mainly west-facing, at altitudes between 300 and 450 metres.
• The main relief corresponds to the escarpment of the first Jurassic plateau, formed by a bed of hard Middle Jurassic limestone overlying a thick sequence of Triassic and Liassic marls and clays.
• The viticultural hills are limestone slices detached from the plateau and thrust forward along reverse faults during the Alpine uplift, elongated more in a north–south direction than east–west.
• On the slopes backed by the limestone plateau, soils are fairly complex, combining marls, clays, and limestone scree; permeable and soluble limestone is present throughout and is well suited to the Jura grape varieties.
• The climate is cool oceanic and notably wet, with continental influences, a marked annual temperature range around a mean of 10.5°C, warm and humid summers, and rainfall exceeding 1,000 millimetres per year.
• Autumns are relatively dry and windy, a local climatic characteristic that distinguishes them from the warm, humid summers.

• In 1272, Jean de Chalon established regulations governing vine-growing practices in the Jura in order to preserve wine quality.
• For vin jaune, savagnin is harvested at optimal ripeness and then aged without topping up for at least six years in oak barrels, where a veil of yeast (voile) develops naturally and ensures gentle oxidation.
• Vin jaune is bottled in a distinctive 62-centilitre bottle known as the "Clavelin".
• For vin de paille, selected bunches are dried off the vine for at least six weeks in order to achieve high sugar concentrations despite a generally cool and humid climate.

• The dry white wine, made mainly from a blend of Chardonnay and Savagnin, shows mineral notes and a "flint" character alongside fruity aromas with a great deal of freshness.
• The Poulsard variety yields a light ruby colour and fruity aromas, Pinot noir produces a deeper-coloured wine with red-fruit notes, and Trousseau gives wines that are more tannic and deeply coloured with animal notes.
• Vin jaune is characterised by its "goût de jaune", combining notes of walnut, apple, candied fruit, and spice, with a golden-amber colour, and can be cellared for 50 to 100 years in bottle.
• Vin de paille, a sweet wine, develops aromas of candied fruit recalling prune or candied orange, or aromas of honey.

• The combination of marly soils covered with limestone scree, slope, and aspect gives the zone optimal conditions for aromatic white wines that express fruitiness and minerality and possess a freshness that is a guarantee of ageing potential.
• The large temperature range between winter and summer promotes the development of the yeast veil that makes the production of vin jaune possible.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF) — approved 20 septembre 2022, JORF 25 septembre 2022
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — CIVJ — Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins du Jura