Côtes du Jura Vin de Paille 1994

Jura's wines will always be associated with Louis Pasteur, who came from Arbois, the capital of the wine-producing region. The region's largest appellation, consisting of about 500 hectares, the Côtes de Jura is located in the area around this small town, and extends southwards as far as Saint Amour. The local grape varieties mingle with those of the relatively nearby Burgundy, such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. But Jura's wines owe their originality and reputation to their native varieties (such as Poulsard or Ploussard, Trousseau and Savagnin) and to their very distinctive, evolved, sometimes even oxidized character. The famous yellow wines, aged for six years years under a film of yeast (and not topped up) are in this category. "Vin de paille" or "straw wine" is also one of the Jura's great traditions. "Vin de paille" or "straw wine" is another of the Jura's specialities. This is a sweet wine, produced from a selection of the finest grapes from the harvests, that traditionally are then dried for several months on racks (or straw in past times - hence their name) to concentrate the sugar and the flavours, before being pressed. The wine is aged in small barrels for at least three years to develop its flavours of candied fruit, prunes, honey, caramel or candied oranges. Only the AOCs of Côtes du Jura, Arbois and Étoile can produce these wines and yields are restricted to 20hl/ha.