A&M Tissot, Vin Jaune Mailloche, Arbois, Jura

Tissot, Vin Jaune Mailloche, Jura . In 2011, Stéphane succeeded for the first time in making clearly different Vin Jaunes from 6 different Jura terroirs - unique! Tissot wanted to show that terroir also matters in oxidative upbringing. And he succeeded!
Normally the idea is that every nuance of a terroir is lost due to oxidation. Think of many natural wines where you can no longer recognize the grape at all.

This Tissot, Vin Jaune Mailloche, from 2012 and from the famous Mailloche vineyard near Arbois , is very precise, mineral and very long. Great wine!

• Serving: 12 °C
• Drink: now up to 2100+ (not a typo!)

Vin Jaune, the French sherry?

The vinification of Savagnin to vin jaune is special. It is similar to that of sherry. It is not a fortified wine. After fermentation in the spring after the harvest, the wine matures for at least six years and 3 months in barriques. The winemaker does not fill the barrels when part of the wine has evaporated (mainly the alcohol evaporates). The wine oxidizes.
A floating layer of yeast cells then forms on the wine, called 'voile' in the Jura and 'flor' in Spain. This prevents oxygen from reaching the wine. The yeast cells convert all remaining sugars in the wine into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

The flor consists of, among other things, acetic acid bacteria that combine oxygen and alcohol. (For the chemists: ethanol becomes ethanal and that smells like sherry). Contact with vinegar-forming bacteria turns wine into undrinkable sour vinegar. Vinaigre - vin aigre = sour wine.
But vin jaune develops in those years in barrels into a beautiful dry wine with a golden yellow color and a particularly rich nose. This is possible because the Savagnin grape has a high acidity (a low pH) and acetic acid bacteria do not like that.

It gets even crazier. The barrels are not only stored in cellars, but also in attics. This also happens in Madeira. By storing the maturing wine alternately in a "cave à jaune" or "cave sous les toits" and a cold cellar, the wine is deliberately exposed to large temperature differences. Something that you avoid with other wines.

During the prescribed 6 years and 3 months that the vin jaune matures in barrels, the winemaker loses 38% of his wine through evaporation. The lost wine is called " part des anges ". That is why the wine is bottled in a 62 centilitre bottle . This bottle – the clavelin – shows how much wine was lost during the production process.

• Savagnin is one of the parents of Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner Veltliner and Trousseau.
• Savagnin is one of the grandparents of Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a descendant of Sauvignon Blanc