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Domaine Labet

The visit to Jura came after a tour of Alsace during the winter 2008 trip; it had been a long voyage, sixteen days covering nearly 6,000 kilometres. Normandy, the Loire, Bordeaux, the Southwest, Provence, the Savoie, Italy, Alsace...we were nearing the finish line. I had decided to explore Jura a bit on the penultimate day, albeit with some hesitation: A few years earlier, I had imported some wines from the area to mixed results. The wines were the ultimate hand-sells, true to their type but totally foreign to most American tastes.

That being said, strange wines had never stopped me from importing them before. When I first got in this business, many customers felt the wines from Southwest France were obscure. Not many people had heard of Madiran, Jurançon or Marcillac. But nearly a decade and a half later, these wines have become almost mainstream. I mean, the grape Tannat doesn't have to be explained anymore, most people have heard of Negrette, and I have renewed faith that Jurançon will one day be the new Sancerre.

The wines of Jura, on the other hand, are still eclectic, if not downright bizarre. Savagnin, Poulsard and Trousseau are grapes unfamiliar to most wine connoisseurs. They are rarely seen outside the region and all make highly original wines.

Savagnin vineyard

So this sojourn through Jura was to give the region another shot, to see a few producers who I had read about, or had heard about through the grapevine. After visiting two distillers and gorging ourselves on onion tart and choucroute, a fellow wine scout and I finally left Alsace in the early afternoon to see a couple of Jura producers a few hours away.

The Jura is located only about an hour east of Beaune which makes one think that the wines should be more internationally known than they are. These wines that have existed for centuries, but the region where they are grown has become smaller. Before the phylloxera, vineyards in the region totaled 46,000 acres: today, it is one-tenth that.

So what makes these odd wines so unique? Like most wine regions, the soil, the climate and the grapes. On a geological level, the Jura has a long and complex history. During the Jurassique and Cretaceous periods (65-230 million years ago), the Jura was covered with a shallow sea. This sedimentary period saw various debris harden.

At the beginning of the tertiary period (25 to 65 million years ago), the sea retreated. Caverns formerly underwater caved in and crumbled, resulting in rocks, sand and silt. At the end of the tertiary era, the Alps and the Jura mountains rose, folding sedimentary cover over the edges of Bresse. The major features of the landscape were formed during this period.

The collapse of the Jura mountains under the effect of the alpine push at the end of the tertiary era upset various geological layers causing a wide diversity of soils. For the last 5 million years, glaciers have covered the Jura and eroded the peaks and valleys.

Today the region has two major soil types: Marl is a soil containing a high proportion of clay sediment that collected at the bottom of the ocean during the Jurassique and Cretaceous periods. There are different colored marls because of the presence of other organic or mineral elements. In fact, a number of different colors can be found including blue, white, red and black. In general, marl soils are sticky and somewhat difficult to work. They are naturally rich in mineral and organic elements, although these elements are not easily assimilated by the vine. They do, however, provide slow but regular growth and moderate vigor.

Limestone is a sedimentary rock that dates to the same period as marl. Limestone is often found in pieces, having broken off or eroded from larger chunks. Limestone has good drainage capabilities and, unlike clay, does not stick together when it rains and reheats quickly in the spring. Wines from limestone tend to show a tense minerality and good structure, but can be somewhat dry on the palate.

The climate is one of extremes, often harsh in the winter and relatively hot in the summer with sunny days extending into the autumn. The grapes are normally grown fairly high off the ground to protect them from the humidity rising from the damp soil. The five major grapes of Jura are Poulsard, Trousseau, Savagnin, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Since most of us know about the last two, here is some information about the others.

Poulsard is also grown a bit in Bugey and sometimes blended with Gamay in the sparkling wines of Cerdon. The large, oval grapes have very light skin, and are normally vinified traditionally. However, even after a 15-day fermentation, the wines arrive with the color of a deep rosé. They are usually low in tannin, and have light red fruit and, because of their proneness to reduction, often display gamey notes. They are commonly served with a light chill, most usually with cold cuts or roast chicken.

Trousseau is richer in color and tannin, and is the major red grape in Jura. Some scholars think its origin might be Portuguese. It can be compared in weight to Pinot Noir from the Côtes de Beaune, and makes a good match for red meats, roast pork or cheeses such as comté or gruyère. Savagnin is perhaps the noble grape of Jura, used to create the famous Vin Jaune as well as complex and long-lived white wines. Some say it is related to Traminer from the Alto Adige. Savagnin excels on marl soils and does not do well on limestone. Dry Savagnin has an intriguing bouquet that combines citronella, wax and flowers. The area's famous vin jaune is made from Savagnin aged in 228-liter oak casks, and is neither racked nor topped up for a minimum of six years. During this time a voile or veil of yeast forms-much like the flor of jerez or sherry. The wine is eventually bottled in unusual 620 ml bottles called Clavelin (as approximately 380 ml of liquid evaporates from the original liter over the course of six-plus years).

The "flor" of vin jaune

We got off the autoroute and passed through Besançon. It was raining and, as usual, we were running late. Our first stop was to see a young producer in a town just outside Arbois called Pupillon. He was a native of the region but without previous wine experience apart from having attended wine school in Beaune. This kid was brave, I thought, choosing Jura to start his career. As many Jura wines are not made using the principles and techniques that he'd certainly learned in the Burgundy capital, he seemed to be on a suicide mission! We tasted and talked. He had some decent wines, albeit with uneven quality. A late-harvest Savignin was actually really good. The producer told us that we were the first American visitors to his domaine ever, which proved that there still was virgin ground remaining in France!

The sun had gone down and we bid farewell. I had miscalculated the distance to the next appointment and once again called to say we'd be arriving in about an hour. We set off into the rain, fog and darkened skies.

I had begun communicating with Julien Labet about a month earlier. Oddly, my friend Thibault Despagne from Bordeaux had send me a photo of a Labet bottle shortly after that, saying he had drunk it in Ireland and found it to be great. There was an odd connection there that could be more than coincidence, I felt. But after tasting the wines in Pupillon, I had once again become skeptical about all the wines in Jura. I said to my companion, "Let's taste the wines quickly, explain why the wines won't work in the US market, then boogie." After all, we were hungry again (somewhat odd in that we had eaten massive quantities of pork only hours earlier), didn't have a hotel for the night, and were literally in the middle of nowhere.

Julian Labet in the Jura

We finally arrived at eight o'clock. We met Alain and Josie Labet, the parents, who led us into a small, dimly-lit, underground cellar where we waited for Julien to arrive from his house down the road. Julien came in and brushed the rain off his coat. Julien is a rather funky guy: part punk, part stoner. He looked like he could have cut his blond hair himself. His English is street smart, obviously learned on the job rather than in a book. He's a bundle of energy and had already pulled the corks of about twenty wines.

Before long, we got down to business. First wine: Savagnin, full of bright, citrus fruit and lovely acidity, spot on. Second wine, savagnin/chardonnay blend; forward fruit, nice minerality, oily terroir, something like a wacky hybrid between white burgundy and Alsacian riesling. Then a flight of chardonnays from different terroirs composed of differing amounts of marl and limestone, with different exposures and vine ages. All had great balance, with exotic fruit and an underlying minerality that showed wonderful expressions of the grape.

While tasting, Julien tells us he studied at a Domaine Ramonet in Chassagne-Montrachet and Hamilton Russell Winery in South Africa (both damn good references) and now makes his father's wines along with some others with his own name on the label. Seems Alain is happy to let Julien exert some of his knowledge and passion on the family business, but not on all of the wines. After all, the local market is used to the taste and price of the wines they have produced for years, and the French market is essential for their survival. In fact, the whole family depends on the income, as Julien's brother Romain and sister Charlene are also employed by their parents.

Julien started pulling more corks. It seemed like we weren't going to be looking for a hotel immediately. Trousaud, Poulsard and Pinot for red wines, a rosé crémant, the rarely-seen Macvin, and the wonderfully rich Vin de Paille amongst others.

Julian Labet

Josie Labet came down the stairs and laid a cutting board on the table, covered with saucisson sec and comté cheese, both regional specialties. As we nibbled, Julien spoke. He told us that the family owns 12 hectares of vines in the small town of Rotalier, in the southern part of Jura not far from Lons le Saunier. It's an area more known for Chardonnay than Savagnin. The domaine is only 15 minutes south of Château Chalone (small appellation known for its top quality Vin Jaune). One-third of the Labet vines are over 60 years of age. The majority of the vines come from old massal selections. Depending upon the parcel and vintage, the yields vary between 20 and 40 hl/ha (1.5 to 3 tons per acre). The fruit is hand-harvested and there is a manual sorting before pressing.

Only indigenous yeasts are used during the fermentation of the all their wines. For the reds, the grapes are either fully or partially de-stemmed, depending on the vintage. The pinot noir and trousseau are aged in barrels: the poulsard is aged in ancient foudre.

The whites have two distinctive styles: The first wines are topped-up and made in a more modern style in which oxidation is prevented. With these wines, all plots are vinified separately. The fermentations are long and at a low temperature. The wine is raised on its fine lees in 228 liter barrels that vary between 1 and 5 years old. The upbringing of the whites depends largely on what the vintage presents and the parcel-there really is no recipe. The lees-stirring is not systematic, nor is the amount of time the wine will spend in barrel.

The second style is the traditional or oxidized style (vin de voile): These wines come from various parcels that are blended together. Only indigenous yeasts are used for their fermentations, which takes place at a low temperature in ancient foudres. In the spring, the foudres are racked and the wine is placed into ancient 228-liter barrels. The wines are not topped up, something that encourages the development of a yeast veil which hovers over the surface of the wine. This method of aging helps prevent the wrong type of oxidation which would convert the wine into vinegar, and instead allows it to develop an original bouquet that includes curry, hazelnut and walnut-aromas historically well-known in the Jura.

While not organic, Labet is attempting to work as close to natural principles as possible: He considers the domaine to be completely sustainable: no chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used, and only organic compost is plowed into the soils. Most of the vines are from pre-clonal stock (sélections massales) and the yeasts are indigenous. While they do make some wines that have the typical Jura style that includes nutty oxidation, most of the Labet's wines are from topped-up barrels. Wines called Fleurs are cuvées that are vinified and raised in a topped-up style (without oxidation). The objective with these wines is to transmit an original expression of the vine, the grape, the terroir and the climate. "We like to trust our intuition," Julien says. "But we also feel that tradition includes experiences that the present should feed on."

One meets many producers while traveling along the wine trail. But as the years pass and one tastes more and more wine, it's rare for the light bulb to flash when tasting an assortment of wines for the first time. But suddenly the dark cellar was becoming brighter as each wine was poured into our glasses.

I cut myself some saucisson and grabbed a hunk of cheese. Julien poured another wine into my extended glass. I wasn't thinking about the time anymore, or finding a hotel that night. I felt perfectly fine right where I was.

Chardonnay Fleurs: 20 to 30 year-old vines. A blend of various parcels with a marne and lias base. Topped-up style has great fruit, a touch of honey and lovely minerality. An awesome glass pour.

Fleur de Savagnin: 15 to 30 year-old vines. A blend of various parcels with a blue and white marnes base. Candle wax and citronella candle, with a lovely, citrusy acidity that livens up this full-bodied wine.

Les Varrons: Chardonnay coming from a parcel called Les Varrons, situated on a slope with a top altitude of 280 meters, exposed toward the east. 65 year-old vines from sélections massales (vines existing on the property rather than more modern clones). Complex soil combines Benthonien and Bajocien limestone, with 30 to 80 cm of yellow and ocre-colored clay, striped with eolien sediment.

La Reine: 60 year-old Chardonnay vines from sélections massales planted on ochre and gold-colored marne. The slopes top out at 260 meters and are exposed to the northwest.

En Chalasse: Chardonnay more than 40 years old, from sélections massales. Planted at 260 meters, with a west-facing slope on blue clay and bajocien limestone.

Chardonnay/Savagnin: 60-70% Chardonnay and 30-40% Savagnin, depending on the vintage. Vines are between 30 and 60 years old. A blend of various parcels planted on marne. Aged under the veil in old 228 liter barrels for between 24 and 48 months.

Vin de Paille: A blend of Chardonnay, Savagnin and Poulsard from various parcels, from vines between 30 and 60 years old. The exact blend varies according to the conditions of the vintage. Vin de Paille (straw wine) is a specialty of the Jura. The top grapes are harvested and aged in a dry, third-floor attic on straw mats for four to five months. After the grapes are pressed (with sugar levels between 340 and 420 grams per liter) they are fermented with indigenous yeasts in well-seasoned 228-liter casks. Fermentation is long, lasting anywhere from 6 to 18 months. The resultant vin liquoreux is about 14.5% alcohol and has a residual sugar content of between 100 and 180 grams per liter.

Macvin: Whereas Cognac has Pineau des Charentes, Armagnac has Floc de Gascogne and Calvados has Pommeau de Normandie, the Jurasic version is called Macvin du Jura. Here, producers use a blend of 2/3 unfermented juice which is muted with a third Marc (the distilled lees and the french equivalent to grappa), which prevents the fermentation of the sugars and stabilizes the alcohol at 18%. It is aged in well-seasoned 228 liter casks and is most commonly drunk as an apéritif.

Crémant du Jura Rosé: The Crémant de Jura appellation was established in 1995. These wines are made like Champagne, with a secondary fermentation taking place in the bottle. The cremant rose is made with pure pinot noir, fermented in 228 liter barrels. Skin contact takes place for four or five days until the desired color is acquired. The wine rests on its fine lees for eight months and undergoes a full malolactic fermentation. The wine is given some liqueur d'expedition (yeast and sugar) and bottled, and their interaction makes the secondary fermentation take place in bottle. After 24 months, the bottles are riddled over a period of 3 weeks and finally disgorged, given a small dosage and corked.

Poulsard Vieilles Vignes: Good color for poulsard, ruby and barely transparent. Forthcoming nose of red fruits and crushed pepper, with a lightly tannic, spicy finish.

Trousseau: Deep ruby color. Pinot-like aromas with a hint of spice. Similar flavors on the palate, with a soave texture and lightly tannic finish. Delicious!