This week the English Nose takes a jaunt to the Jura, a green and gorgeous land straddling the boarder of France and Switzerland in the foothills of the mountains – snowy in winter, flowers and grassy slopes in summer. A land of milk and cheese where the hills are alive with the gentle sound of cow bells. This is a bovine paradise. The happy cows produce milk to make that prince of hard cheese – Comte.

There are vines here too and I headed for those cloaking the hill on which the medieval village of Château-Chalon is perilously perched. At risk of sounding like a travel brochure, this is a magnificent spot with views to die for; narrow medieval streets, turrets and towers, the real deal, well maybe not quite as it’s very much ‘discovered’ with every other house a boutique B&B. It is neat, tidy and whimsical.

However the particular, if not peculiar, wine made here has retained its authenticity. It’s a wine a bit like sherry for it’s matured under a layer of yeast, know as flor. The yeast helps protects the wine from oxygen, but never-the-less they have a typical oxidative character – nutty and coffee-ish with scrumptious notes of dried apricots. This style of wine is not to everybody’s palate, but is a taste worth acquiring.

My car strained up the hill into the Château-Chalon. At the top there was a little celebration underway, so I pulled up beside a traditional wooden press to take look. As it happened, it was the domaine I’d come to visit.

Domaine Berthet-Bondet was marking their thirtieth anniversary with a display of local crafts and produce. Very nice, but I was more interested in the wine and there was plenty for the tasting. Hélène, daughter of Jean Berthet-Bonet who established the domaine, showed me around.

Hélène Barthod

The vinous speciality of the region is Vin Jaune and the most famous expression is produced from the slopes around Château-Chalon – the grand cru as it were. This ‘yellow wine’ has been around since the Middle Ages and in 1936 was recognised by French wine law. It is made from a variety called Savagnin, no not Sauvignon – Savagnin, which is happiest on the grey and blue marly soils here. The must is fermented in stainless steel and put into second hand Burgundy barrels, some of which are an alarming forty years old.

The barriques are not filled to the top, but stop short by the distance of a spread hand, delightfully unscientific. That’s the way it’s always been done. The yeast, which thrives in the cellars, grows in a thin brown or grey layer (voile) above the wine. It doesn’t look appealing, but a thick fluffy white layer would be bad news indicating an over-active yeast… and we do not want an over active yeast, but a gently protective one.

And now the wine sleeps like a princess in her castle. The barrels are not touched or topped with wine for six long years and three months, by which time eleven litres has evaporated, known as the ‘angels’ share.’

When the wine is woken she’s not put in a sleek, modern bottle, but a squat vessel known as a Clavelin, complete with a glass plaque embossed with Château-Chalon. The locals are very proud of these traditional bottles, which have been used since 1506. They had to gain special dispensation from the European Parliament continue to use them as the hold just 62cl rather than the regulation 70cl. This is what’s left when the angels’ share has evaporated after six years. Personally I think they are hideous and made worse by labels in gothic font. In a world of contemporary bottle design and dressing this presentation can be off putting, but get past this and try what’s inside…

Here are a few notes on the wines I tasted at Domaine Berthet-Bondet:

Château-Chalon 2008 has an aroma of rich coffee, toasted almond, orange and spice. The body is subtle, smooth and gently rounded. There is excellent depth of flavour. It is zesty, juicy and finishes on a long, refined, salty and savoury note. Very fresh.

The yeast transforms the wine, but the wine retains the character of the vintage. The 2008 is the current vintage. It was a cold season and the wine has plenty of acidity. To give you some idea, the nose is a bit like sherry…a fino, but with more depth to the palate… more like Amontillado. Sherry of course is fortified and these wines are not. The palate is nutty – almonds, walnuts and roasted hazelnuts with hints of coffee, tobacco and spices – ground coriander and ginger and it is dry, dry, dry. Some say it reminds them of curry flavours. They need at least ten years in bottle and happily develop from thirty years to a century years for the best vintages.

Skip back a few years to Château-Chalon 1985, Berthet-Bondet’s first vintage. This has a light lemon colour. Interestingly these wines do not always become darker with age. It is more delicate and silky than the 2008 and is very pure on the finish. Appetisingly saline at the end with a smidgen of bitterness. A wine which is becoming slimmer and more elegant with age.

Berthet-Bondet also produce flor wines which are aged in barrique for just 2 or 3 years, not long enough to fulfil the Château-Chalon AOC criteria, but jolly good none-the-less and cheaper than Château-Chalon AOC, which is undeniably pricey.

Côtes du Jura Tradition 2012 is a blend of 30% Savagnin and 70% Chardonnay – yes Chardonnay is also very happy with this terroir, although is not permitted for Vin Jaune. Tradition is aged for 2 years under flor and not topped up. It’s creamy and nutty. Of course it is much more straight forward than the Château-Chalon, but has the advantage of being accessible sooner. Chill it down.

I particularly liked the Côtes du Jura Blanc, Savagnin 2011. This is a smooth and silky wine. It has the characteristic apricot and walnut notes typical of all these wines, which are both oxidative and fresh.

To celebrate the 30 year anniversary Berthet-Bondet has produced 900 bottles of Cuvée du Trentenaire 1985-2015. This is a blend of 27 vintages of Tradition. This has a great label of a donkey painted by a local artist. The wine is alluring. There are exotic spices, dark chocolate, dried apricots and roasted hazelnuts on the satin-smooth palate. The finish is long and intense.

Now for something a bit different – a liqueur. Macvin du Jura is a blend of Chardonnay must and eau de vie de marc which has spent two years in barrel. This is delish. A cornucopia of pineapple, gingerbread and fresh white pepper on the nose and on the palate it’s sweet – notes of mandarin and heady with spices. It would be fab with a sticky fruit tart. At 18% vol. you should go easy with this. I’m told it will benefit from 5 to 10 years in bottle, should you be able to wait that long. Not sure I can.