Crémant du Jura

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard unfolds discontinuously along a band some 80 kilometres long and only 2 to 5 kilometres wide, at elevations ranging from 300 to 450 metres.
• The topography results from the overthrusting of the Jura onto the Bresse plain during the Alpine uplift, creating elongated north–south hills that rise 50 to 100 metres above parallel depressions.
• The edge of the Jurassic plateau consists of a hard Middle Jurassic limestone bedrock overlying a thick sequence of Triassic and Liassic marls and clays.
• The hills are limestone slabs torn from the plateau and carried forward along thrust faults, more elongated north to south (2 to 3 kilometres) than east to west (0.5 to 1 kilometre).
• The cool, heavily rainfall-influenced oceanic climate, marked by continental influences, has a mean annual temperature of 10.5 °C and precipitation exceeding 1,000 millimetres distributed fairly evenly throughout the year.

• The method of production involving a second fermentation in the bottle has existed in the Jura since the seventeenth century, with techniques refined during the twentieth century to include gentle pressing and extended lees ageing.
• The appellation Crémant du Jura was recognised by the decree of 9 October 1995, after which producers abandoned the production of sparkling wine under the other Jura appellations.
• The Poulsard grape variety is documented in writing as early as 1620 in the Jura, Savagnin in 1717, Chardonnay also in 1717, and Trousseau from 1732 onwards.
• Pinot noir, originating from the neighbouring Burgundy vineyard and adapted to the Jura, appears in the earliest written record in 1385 under the name 'savagnin noir'.

• The white sparkling wine, produced mainly from the Chardonnay grape variety, is delicate and refined, with a complex yet restrained aromatic profile in which notes of apple, brioche, and hazelnut are frequently distinguishable.
• The rosé sparkling wine is generally produced from the Pinot noir grape variety and very often offers notes of small red fruits.

• The marly clay-limestone soils covered with limestone pebble deposits provide the grapes with deep-down freshness and good surface warming as well as good drainage, thanks to the thick stony scree.
• Harvesting whole grape clusters in open-slatted crates and applying a very gentle, progressive pressing preserve the intrinsic qualities of the grapes, notably the aromatic potential linked to the natural environment.

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)
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — CIVJ — Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins du Jura