Collection of "Vins jaunes". Which one is the oldest ?
Dear wine lovers,
In 150 acres of blue marls out of the Jura Mountains, there is a unique wine (also known as "Vin Jaune") and a beautiful village : Château Chalon*.
Late in being harvested, the Savagnin grape is vinified and so produces a concentrated white wine but its very originality comes from its ageing process. The wine is then put into USED barrels that have retained some indigenous local yeast** and the barrels are not completely filled. After a while, the yeast will develop a scum at the surface and provide natural protection from oxidation.
On the other hand, a lot of wine will evaporate (we call this the angels' part because that's the amount of wine that angels are said to drink) and eventually, out of 1 liter of wine, 0.62 liter is left. This fact has given birth to the famous and unique "Clavelin" bottle only used to hold this wine.
The result is obviously a very complex wine, with a nice acidity given by the Savagnin and the altitude at which the vines are raised, depth from the over-matured grapes and complexity given by this so special ageing process.
It will not surprise you to hear that all the vineyards of Château Chalon are in the very family tradition of France. Domaine de la Pinte where Pierre Martin keeps up the tradition of a 150 year old vineyard and Domaine Baud that produces 4,000 bottles surpasses all the records with his ancestor Jean-Français who began the vineyard in...1642 are very good examples. It is actually very rare to be disappointed with a bottle of "Vin Jaune" so I am sure that any bottle which one of your favorite wine shops will propose you should be good.
Most vintages are very good. Of course 2002 will be great but it is still ageing in barrels. And, besides, when a vintage is not good enough, the little producers' committee decide to declassify the wine and not produce Château Chalon, as they determined for the 2001 vintage.
This wine is very compatible with to the local "Comte" cheese since they both develop this typical nutty aroma. Cooking with a small amount of "Vin Jaune" is also very interesting such as this chicken recipe. Otherwise, it will also fit very well with an apricot tart.
Cheers,
Jean-Marc Espinasse
Any comments, edits are very welcome at [email protected]
*Listen to "Château Chalon"
**Yeast = Levure
See Château Chalon on a French wine map (use enlarge icon to see it better)
