Château-Chalon () is an

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

for

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

s made in the

Jura wine Jura wine is French wine produced in the Jura '' département''. Located between Burgundy and Switzerland, this cool climate wine region produces wines with some similarity to Burgundy and Swiss wine. Jura wines are distinctive and unusual wi ...

region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, around the village of

Château-Chalon Château-Chalon () is a commune in the Jura department, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, eastern France. The commune is perched on a cliff in the first fold of the Jura mountains. It is reached from the west by a road with numerous hairpin curves. ...

. Only white wines from the Savagnin

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

made in the ''

vin jaune is a special and characteristic type of white wine made in the Jura (wine), Jura region in eastern France. It is similar to dry fino Sherry and gets its character from being matured in a barrel under a film of yeast (wine), yeast, known as the ...

'' ("yellow wine") style can be made using this appellation. However, the Château-Chalon wines are not explicitly labeled as ''vin jaune''. It is bottled in the traditional bottle called ''clavelin'' that is of a peculiar shape and with a capacity of 62 cl, which is, according to local legend, the amount left of a litre of wine after aging in cask for six years and three months - the legal minimum for Chateau Chalon. Once bottled, the wine is of great

longevity Longevity may refer to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is defined Statistics, statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. For example, a population's life expectancy at birth ...

, and can age for several decades.

Climate and geography

Château-Chalon is located in hilly terrain in the eastern

French wine French wine is produced throughout all of France in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to th ...

region of Jura. The area has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

, which includes very cold winters. The climate during harvest time is normally dry enough to be able to pick the grapes at a late harvest stage, normally in late October. The

vineyard soils The soil composition of vineyards is one of the most important viticulture, viticultural considerations when planting grape vines. The soil supports the root structure of the vine and influences the drainage levels and amount of minerals and nutrie ...

are composed of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

. J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 775 Oxford University Press 2006

Wine production

The Château-Chalon AOC is dedicated exclusively to the production of ''vin jaune'' wine. There are other

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

s within Jura that are permitted to produce AOC ''vin jaune'', most notably the Côtes du Jura AOC, but Château-Chalon has specific regulations that are unique to this AOC. To begin with, the grapes must be harvested at

brix Degrees Brix (symbol °Bx) is a measure of the dissolved solids in a liquid, based on its specific gravity, and is commonly used to measure dissolved sugar content of a solution. One degree Brix is 1 gram of sucrose solute dissolved in 100 grams ...

levels that allow for a potential

alcohol content Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...

of at least 12% in the finished wine; other regions will allow a minimum of 11.5%. While the grapes are harvested late, they are never

botrytized ''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" or ...

, unlike other well known late harvest French wines such as Sauternes. E. McCarthy & M. Ewing-Mulligan ''"French Wine for Dummies"'' pg 237-238 Wiley Publishing 2001 After

fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

the wine must be stored for at least six years and three months prior to bottling. The majority of time is spent in wood casks that are only partially filled, allowing for a film of

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

, known as the ''voile'' or "veil", to develop across the surface. This ''voile'' yeast is similar to the benevolent ''

flor Flor (Spanish and Portuguese for ''flower'') in winemaking, is a film of yeast on the surface of wine, important in the manufacture of some styles of sherry. The flor is formed naturally under certain winemaking conditions, from indigenous yeast ...

'' yeast that is used in

sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...

production, and ''vin jaune'' shares some similarities in styles to sherry, though ''vin jaune'' is not

fortified A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...

. The producers of Château-Chalon are very particular about quality and will sacrifice an entire year's production, not making any wine, if the weather of a particular

vintage In winemaking, vintage is the process of picking grapes to create wine. A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine ...

was not favorable. In good years, production will average around 2000

hectoliters The litre (Commonwealth English, Commonwealth spelling) or liter (American English, American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric units, metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic c ...

(52,835 gallons).

Wine style

The ''vin jaune'' wine of Château-Chalon is known for its nutty flavors and aromas, and can develop additional

curry Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internatio ...

notes as the wines ages due to presence of

sotolon Sotolon (also known as sotolone) is a butenolide lactone and an extremely potent aroma compound, with the typical smell of fenugreek or curry at high concentrations and maple syrup, caramel, or burnt sugar at lower concentrations. Sotolon is the m ...

. The wine's yellow color ranges from pale to deep gold. The wines are often paired with the local AOC designated

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

from the nearby town of

Bresse Bresse () is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term ''Bresse'' has two meanings: ''Bresse bourguignonne'' (or ''louhannaise''), whic ...

References

Jura wine AOCs {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau-Chalon Aoc