2000 Jacques Puffeney Vin Jaune

Sure, you might stumble upon a forgetton Jura wine at the bottom of an expansive wine list while out to dinner, but a whole selection of Jura wines by-the-glass?

Barrel Thief, a Richmond, Virginia wine shop/bar/cafe,* decided to feature a practically never before seen by-the-glass program featuring solely Jura wines. They weren't popular with customers, nor easy to get a hold of. Hence, their existence being challenging and worthwhile. The newest 5+ entries are devoted to featuring those wines. Read on.

Puffeney (pew-feh-nay) is imported by Rosenthal Wine Merchants. According to the MadRose website, "Puffeney usually waits 8 1/2 years to make a final determination as to whether the appropriate quality level has been reached" as opposed to the usual 6 1/2.

2000 Jacques Puffeney Vin Jaune
-toasted, honeyed walnuts, lanolin, unexpectedly tannic (heck, this is practically a baby vin jaune), the walnuts really take over otp**
*disclaimer - the author is a former manager of aforementioned BT
**shorthand - on the palate

vin jaune

Vin jaune is the pride and joy of Jura. Crafted from the grape savagnin and using a purposefully oxidizing fermentation process, the closest thing to compare to the final product is a dry sherry.

Savagnin's lineage is difficult to trace, although it's thought to be related to the traminer family. To the dismay of many an Aussie producer, genetic tests recently proved that the albariño they thought they had planted over a decade ago as an investment was, in fact, savagnin.

The process used for fermentation is called sous-voile or 'under the veil', which is very similar to the flor that is essential to sherry production. The yeast forms a tight seal over the wine and allows a certain amount of oxidation under the watchful eye of the winemaker. The voile develops over a period of 2-3 years, and by law is aged 6 years, 3 months.

The result, which is packaged in 500mL clavelins, is complex (and usually pricey) to say the least. Serve at cellar temperature, and if you're lucky enough to come across a bottle of your own, make the effort to explore the classic food pairing with Comté cheese or a poulet de Bresse, if you can get your hands on one.

Totally worth it.

La Percée du Vin Jaune
A festival held in a different town in Jura every year during the first week of February. Despite the cold, (Jura's climate is Burgundian with tougher cold spells), thousands of people come out to celebrate the 'Opening of the Yellow Wine'!