Chateau-Chalon

Chateau-Chalon is the appellation for vin jaune alone, and the method explains the village. Savagnin grapes are picked late, fermented, then left in barrel for six years and three months without topping up the evaporation, so a film of yeast forms on the surface and the wine oxidises under it, coming out deep yellow with a nutty character closer to fino sherry than to Burgundy. It is bottled in the clavelin, a squat 62 centilitre bottle sized to what remains of a litre after the ageing. The village sits on a cliff edge above vineyards with views across the Bresse plain and the remains of an abbey.

What you actually see

• The cliff-edge village - stone houses on a rock ledge above the vines.
• The vin jaune cellars - barrels ageing under a yeast veil for six years.
• The clavelin bottle - the squat 62 centilitre form unique to the wine.
• The plain view - long sight lines west over Bresse from the belvedere.

When to go

May to October; the Percee du Vin Jaune festival in early February opens the new vintage across the Jura and moves between villages. Cellars close for long lunches and need appointments.

Honest expectations

Vin jaune is an acquired taste and expensive; it is not a wine to buy blind. The village is tiny with limited parking. Many producers open by appointment only.

Nearby

Baume-les-Messieurs lies north; Arbois is northeast.