2017 Domaine de L'Octavin Raph'Noel

Jura is France’s smallest wine region, with about 4,000 acres of vineyards, and one of its least well-known. Nestled into the foothills of the Jura Mountain range on the far eastern side of central France near Switzerland, the region includes four geographic appellations. They are Arbois, Côtes du Jura, Etoile and Château-Chalon. There are also two appellations that pertain to the style of wine made, Crémant du Jura and Macvin, which is a liqueur. Jura grows Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, like its neighbor Burgundy, but is especially admired among cognoscenti for its distinctive regional grapes, which are the white grape Savagnin and the red grape Ploussard. Savagnin is the grape used for the region’s famous Vin Jaune, made from late harvest grapes and vinified somewhat in the manner of Jerez Sherry. The end result is a yellowish, somewhat nutty wine. Savagnin, known locally as Naturé, is also often blended with Chardonnay, known in Jura as Melon d’Arbois. The red grape Trousseau is also grown in Jura.

The Gamay grape produces a light, versatile and food-friendly wine. It is best known for making Beaujolais Nouveau, but it is also grown in Loire and Tours. Thankfully the 14th C. Duke of Burgundy’s degree to ban the grape did not spread through all of France.