Caveau du Val d'Amour - Côtes du Jura - Chardonnay & Savagnin 2020 🦄

Sylvain Jacquot is based in the town of Cramans (just north of Arbois). His winery is essentially a garage around the back of his house. His back yard is full of old bits of machines, cars, tractors, you name it and it is quite obvious when you meet him that this is a passion project, not a large commercial operation. Although Sylvain has been making fantastic wines here in both the oxidative and topped up styles for many years, it is only in the last few years that he has started selling his wines outside the local area. 

Sylvain works with the classic grape varieties, Chardonnay, Savagnin, Pinot Noir, Poulsard and Trousseau. His grapes come from organically farmed vineyards that he inherited from his father, with most of the vines being between 40-100 years old. The parcels are located in the communes of Buvilly, Arbois, Montigny lès Arsures and Chamoz. In the winery, Sylvain’s wines ferment spontaneously, are unfined and unfiltered and bottled with a small SO2 addition. 

This wine is made from Organically farmed Chardonnay and Savagnin which has had three years in old oak barrels. For the last few months, the wine developed a flor of yeast and has taken on some oxidative character. Expect explosive orchard and citrus fruits with nutty, spicy, curry leaf undertones. This is a powerful wine and made in minuscule quantities.