Tasting

Hold a Vin Jaune up to the light. You immediately see that something different is happening here compared to any other white wine: a deep, matte golden-brown, almost like liquid amber, called mordoré. No young white wine looks like this, and yet the wine in the glass seems anything but tired.

On the nose comes first walnut, then curry, along with dried fruit and saffron. Sometimes honey joins in, and in very old vintages, leather or a hint of truffle. This is almost entirely due to a single molecule, sotolon. It forms over the six years under the voile and ends up in concentrations exceeding 350 micrograms per liter in the wine.

Despite this intensity, Vin Jaune remains remarkably taut on the palate. The acidity that Savagnin naturally brings pushes back against the high alcohol and dense array of aromas. As a result, the wine never feels heavy or sweet, even though on paper it should be. The finish lingers for a full minute, sometimes longer.

Poulsard presents an entirely different tasting experience. The color is so pale it almost resembles a rosé, with orange glints at the rim, the oeil de perdrix. On the palate you barely notice any tannin, but plenty of acidity and a clear scent of wild strawberry and white pepper.

Tasting both back to back, you understand the whole Jura in two glasses: on one side, the power and depth of Vin Jaune, on the other, the lightness of Poulsard. Almost everything grown here moves between these two poles.