AOC Château-Chalon wines awarded at the Gilbert & Gaillard International Challenge

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

this prestigious Jura appellation is both the name of a cliff top village and an appellation embracing 4 villages producing ‘vin jaune’, viz Château Chalon, Menétru, Domblans and Nevy-sur-Seille. The sloping vineyards grow primarily on limestone scree intermingled with Lias marl on the steepest gradients. More consistent black marl type soils are also present. The climate is continental, with extremely cold winters and frequent autumn frosts. Wine making methods: Château Chalon is one of France’s greatest white wines, even if the descriptor ‘white’ is not entirely accurate because Château Chalon is in fact ‘yellow’. A ripe crop is a prerequisite for making this type of wine (204g/l of natural sugar at least). Made using conventional wine making techniques, the wines are aged for six years and three months in partly-filled 228-litre oak casks. They are neither racked nor topped up, allowing a kind of yeast veil similar to the flor fungus in Sherry to form on the surface. This yeast veil, which grows during the summer (due to variations in temperature), entices out the characteristic aromas found in the wines. The actual wine making process is in fact extremely tricky as the risk of volatile acidity is very high. As the wines mature, a large proportion of them evaporates, hence the unusual size of the traditional Jura wine bottle. The 62 cl ‘clavelin’ contains the amount left per litre of matured wine. To maintain high quality standards, growers do not apply for AC approval in years when they consider their wines to be anything less than top notch.

Grape varieties: Vins blancs secs : savagnin

The wines of this appellation

Château Chalon only produces ‘vin jaune’ from Savagnin, a temperamental, low-yielding grape variety which some consider to be on a par with Tokay wines or Sherry. With its inimitable taste of unripe walnuts, green apple and spices (nutmeg, cinnamon), and its deep colour which sometimes turns amber down the years, this wine is extremely well-constituted and rich in alcohol (minimum 12% vol.). It boasts an extensive lifespan (up to 100 years with no deterioration) and shows at its best when it has matured for at least ten to fifteen years. Enjoy with Comté cheese, poultry served in a cream sauce… Drink at room temperature (12-15°C).