Dry white

Arbois Savagnin

Robe — Gold, deeper and more amber in the oxidative style

  • green apple
  • walnut
  • curry spice
  • quince
  • dried herbs
Palate
Dry and intense — fresh and taut when topped up, nutty and savoury under the veil
Ageing
5–15 years
Serving
12–14 °C

The still, unfortified face of the Jura's great white grape — everything Savagnin does before it becomes Vin Jaune. Made "topped up" (ouillé), it is fresh, taut and mineral, all green apple and citrus; made the traditional way, aged under a veil of yeast without topping up the barrel, it turns nutty, savoury and curry-spiced.

Pushed to its oxidative extreme and aged six years under the veil, this same wine becomes Vin Jaune — but everyday Arbois Savagnin covers the whole range short of that, and its fresh ouillé style has become a cult favourite of the natural-wine generation. It is the Jura's singular white, in all its guises.

The blend

A typical modern composition

Where it is made

Producers

A few estates working in this style today — a sample, not a ranking

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 0The Monastic Middle Ages — 20Exploration & the Fortified Age — 25Classifications & the Golden Age — 30Phylloxera & the World Crises — 25The Modern & New World Era — 55Antiquity0500150017001875195055