Team South Africa for the World Tasting Championship: Jean-Vincent Ridon (coach), Chris Groenewald (captain), Benthe Legg, and Gavin Smith.
Day 2 started off slow, with JV and myself sleeping off the rust from the previous day, followed by a trip to the shops to stock up on food for the next couple of days. We make our way back to Geneva to pick up other team members, Benthe and Gavin, and before we knew it we were back in the Jura Mountains posing for pictures with the most important inhabitants of the region: the cows.
Back at the apartment, it was time for a quick rest and recover from the travel, a beer to get the taste buds going, followed by our first training session as a team in the Jura. With a good night's sleep ahead, we were all excited for the next day.
Day 3, Friday, started off in true French fashion with coffee and croissants, and then off we go on our visits for the day. We kicked the tastings off at Benoit Bedoz. As we taste through the range, we start to get a taste for the region. The Poulsard is light, fresh and fruit forward, the Trousseau perfumed with a bit more structure to it, and the Pinot Noir really pure and focused. Oh, I forgot to mention, like in Burgundy we start the tasting with the red wines. And for good reason… The white wines are powerful but balanced. We start the with two Chardonnays, one aged only in tank and one in barrel. Both bright, alive and a joy to drink. After this we taste the Tradition: a blend of 60% Chardonnay aged in barrel with 40% Savignan aged for three years under flor.
A quick note on flor: This is a layer of yeast that grows on top of the wine, protecting it from oxidation and simultaneously adding this incredible nutty, saline quality to the wine. This plays a big role in the wines of the Jura, and is also the reason why the white wines are tasted after the red wines.
Next, we taste the Savignan, aged for three years under flor. The wine is incredibly complex with a great balance between the fruit notes and the nutty, smokey, saline notes imparted by the flor aging.
Finally, we taste the Vin Jaune. By law Vin Jaune must be produced from the Savignan grape and aged for a minimum of six years and three months under flor before being bottled. It is intense! The flavour of the flor combined with the weight on the palate is something to write songs about. These wines are built to last, and will probably outlast me.
After a quick lunch we head to the co-operative in Poligny. This was the first co-operative established in France, and they work with 250 hectares of the 2000 hectares of vines planted in the Jura. To put in perspective how small this region is, the Swartland had 11977 hectares of vineyards in the ground in 2023.
What struck me most of the tasting was the value on offer at the co-operative. The wines completely over delivered on the price point, and although they were not in the class of Bedoz, they were true to the region and the varieties.
From here we set off to Domaine Désiré Petit in Pupillin, and oh my word were we in for a treat. There is plenty to say about all of their beautiful wines, but the standouts were the 2015 Vin Jaune from Pupillin and the 2018 Chateau Chalon. Both of the wines were incredibly tight, showing stunning complexity of fruit and flor characters. These wines will easily age another 30+ years in bottle. If you ever come across them, do not hesitate to buy them and put them in your cellar.
The real surprise of the day came at the end of the tasting when winemaker Damien Petit walked into the tasting room. He was an assistant winemaker for Jean-Vincent in the Roussillon more than 20 years ago. Damien proceeded to take us on a tour of the cellar where we discussed the complexities of working with flor yeast, the reality of climate change and the possible role that hybrid varieties could play in the future, and finally a show and tell of the most incredible museum collection of old cellar and vineyard tools that I have ever seen.
Gavin, Benthe, and Chris with Damien Petit, winemaker at Domaine Desiré Petit in Pupillin (third from left).
We leave with our hearts full and drive to see the Chateau Chalon vineyards. Nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to witness. I stood on the plateau overlooking the amphitheater of vineyards, not sure what to say or do. I get more than a little emotional. There is a presence that you can’t quite explain, nor do I want to. Standing there with the sun setting it all makes sense. The incredible complexity of Vin Jaune from the Chateau Chalon Appellation is all down to the orchestra of vines sitting on the pure limestone. This is where the masterpiece is written.
Inspired, in awe, and completely transformed by a day in the Jura.
Tomorrow morning, bright and early, Team South Africa takes on the world in the World Tasting Championship. Not to win (although we will try!), but to hold hands with the rest of the wine family.