Hello, my daughter Lizzy was given a bottle of 2013 Arbois Réserve du Caveau from Lucien Aviet, and has decided that we shall drink it tomorrow evening, that being her birthday. We shall be eating a mushroom Wellington, incorporating lots of last year’s dried boletus’s (boletii?) as well as other vegan items, Lizzy being almost entirely vegan. I know almost nothing about the wines of the Jura, apart from the fact that they are a bit like sherry (a bit), so my questions are: 1) will it be knackered? and 2) how well will it be with mushroom Wellington? We shall have a bottle of adequate burgundy also, and some Manzanilla as a reliable backstop (probably). So, what do we think?
The oxidative style isn’t to everybody’s taste. Why not open the burgundy as well and have two glasses each, one with the Jura and the other Burgundy? That way diners can drink more of whichever they prefer.
We ate a beetroot millefeuille which we drank with a 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape, Les Galets Blonds, which was surprisingly sweet, but still not a great match with the beetroot, although the Jura was, but then the Jura was not at all what I expected - not at all sherry-ish - my notes say slight vanilla smell, also pears, elderflower, butter; taste of lemons, citrus pith, something butterscotch, apple puree, vanilla, quite rich. And that didn’t go very well with the mushroom wellington, whereas the Barbaresco - La Bioca Ronchi 2018 - did, and kept getting better. Slightly odd champagne to start - Drappier - lot of tangerine action there. Couldn’t find any Manzanilla. Hey ho.
Haha, now there’s a challenging wine match: beetroot millefeuille!
Perhaps a Pommard could do the trick?
I like Romain’s suggestion of Pommard. Maybe also Musar red? The earthy-medicinal-funky-sweetness might work well alongside beetroot.
Thank you, both excellent thoughts. Musar possibly closer to my budget (approximately 90% of my disposable income) than a decent Pommard. I suppose a Beaujolais might work also. Probably gammon on Saturday - lots of pig still to get through, which is not the worst problem to have even with slightly more than two of the household being vegan.
I am so sorry that I didn’t see this post/thread earlier as I might have been able to help, knowing Jura well (although not up-to-date on everyone) and Lucien Aviet wines particularly.
So here, I hope, are some thoughts/help for the future on how to know what’s in a bottle of Jura white (that isn’t Vin Jaune). There are two families - the oxidative/sometimes flor-influenced/Vin Jaune style and the non-oxidative ouillé/topped-up/Burgundian-ish style. Both styles exist for Chardonnay and Savagnin, but more of the former is topped up and more of the latter is oxidative. Blends exist in both styles too, but most blends are oxidative.
- If you see Savagnin on the label, it’s likely to be oxidative. Topped-up Savagnins either explain that they are on a back label, or use the word ouillé, or use a ‘fantasy name’.
- For Chardonnay or blends, the word ‘Tradition’ is very often used to indicate that the wine is oxidative, sometimes ‘sous voile’ is used. If that word is not present, then if the appellation is Arbois, it’s likely to be topped-up (as are Aviet Chardonnays, but aged in large oak foudres, so taste fairly traditional-style). If the appellation is Côtes du Jura, and especially if the AOC is L’Etoile, then it might be oxidative. Occasionally on the label you might see the word ‘floral’ and that means topped-up. It is indeed a minefield.
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Tangentially, Jura / Arbois, the general area, would be interesting for me, if jr.com ever do a tasting event again.
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Just contributing that we had a solid 2 weeks traipsing around Jura wineries this July and my copy of your book was ever-present and hugely useful. I, for one, very much like the oxidative style of the whites, and was impressed by the trousseau and poulsard on offer much more so than I remember 20+ years ago.
One of the best visits / tastings was at Chateau d’Arlay, particularly for their reds; such as the Vin Coraille and the multi-vintage pinot-dominated “Reserve”.
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Thanks Peter. It sounds like you had a great time and good to hear about Château d’Arlay, which has been on a steady upward trend these past 5 years or so.
The revolution in quality for Poulsard and Trousseau in the past nearly 20 years (2003 was the turning point) has been dramatic: one of the big reasons is that proper ripeness is now possible almost every year, partly a rare positive result of climate change/global warming, partly better farming/lower yields, and another reason is better handling in the winery and responding to non-local consumer tastes.
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