AOC Arbois wines awarded at the Gilbert & Gaillard International Challenge

A.O.C./A.O.P.

the Arbois appellation embraces 12 villages: Abergement-le-Grand, Arbois, Les Arsures, Mathenay, Mesnay, Molamboz, Montigny-les-Arsures, Les Planches-près-Arbois, Pupillin, Saint-Cyr-Montmalin, Vadans and Vilette-lès-Arbois. The soils are clay (lowlands) and limestone (highlands). Most of the wines are red, though there are also rosés, dry whites and of course, the famous ‘vin jaune’ and ‘vin de paille’. The name Pupillin can be appended to the Arbois appellation for wines from the village. INAO decided to allow the additional name in 1970, in recognition of the long-standing reputation of this particular vineyard site which is extremely well-suited to the Poulsard and other grape varieties.

Grape varieties: Vins rouges, rosés : poulsard, trousseau, pinot noir, pinot gris. Vins blancs secs : chardonnay, savagnin, pinot blanc

The wines of this appellation

the red wines, made from Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot noir and Pinot gris, usually have little depth of colour. Conversely, the rosés display a deep hue, often tinted with orange, referred to as coral. Both offer delicate aromas of red fruit. They can be served with roast leg of chamois (reds) and cured mountain ham (rosés). The dry white wines are drawn from Chardonnay, Savagnin and Pinot blanc. Wines matured in casks used for ‘vin jaune’ display aromas of mocha, dried fruit and green apple. Try these lively, intense, fat, sweet wines with morel mushrooms in a creamy sauce, button mushroom fricassee and of course Comté cheese. ‘Vins jaunes’: ‘vins jaunes’ from Arbois display characteristic aromas of unripe walnuts, green apples and spices. Try with Roquefort cheese in puff pastry, chicken cooked with morel mushrooms and ‘vin jaune’, and walnut cake. ‘Vins de Paille’: ‘vins de Paille’ are made from dessicated grapes which have been laid on a bed of straw to dry or hung up in a dry, well-aired room for around three months. The berries, which by now have extremely high sugar concentrations, are pressed at Christmas (100kg of grapes can yield less than 20 litres of must). Fermentation in small casks is a long drawn out process, lasting up to four years. Once the ageing process is over, most ‘vins jaunes’ have an alcohol content of 15% vol. and are suitable for lengthy bottle ageing. Try with Bresse fatted chicken in a cream sauce or Morbier cheese.