Champ Divin's Crémant du Jura has been the team's undisputed favorite among Crémants for about three years now. So it was really about time we finally visited the winemaking couple Valérie and Fabrice Closset in person.
After we had already been primed for sparkling wine at the Buxeuil Boys, we took a short detour to Meursault and then drove into the hilly landscape of the Jura, more precisely to Gevingey, located at the foot of the Premier Plateau du Jura and Sud-Revermont.
Valérie Closset received us in good spirits and with a broad smile and immediately led us into the hallowed halls of the wine cellar. Although "cellar" is not exactly the right word. The Clossets did not take over an existing old estate with beautiful, venerable buildings – they bought seven hectares in 2008 and built a new building on them that perfectly meets their ideas and needs.
What stands out: Although we move through very high, rather empty storage rooms, our footsteps do not echo. This is due to the special material that was used: lava rock, which is rather porous in consistency and therefore absorbs all noise. In addition, these stones regulate the humidity in the halls, insulate perfectly, and are easy to clean.
Before settling in the Jura, the Clossets worked for several years in Africa and then in France as consultants for wineries that were in the conversion phase to organic viticulture. And now they themselves work according to Demeter guidelines. “I can't remember the names of the pesticides anyway.” Valérie says. But she can remember the names of the various herbal infusions and tinctures she uses in the vineyard to keep the plants healthy. When severe hailstorms destroyed a large part of the budding vines, she remembered what is used in humans to heal injuries: calendula and arnica. She treated the vines with them, and lo and behold, the injuries healed and the Clossets had almost no crop losses, unlike their neighbors.
It was and still is important to them that they can do all the work on the estate themselves, because only then can they know all their vineyards well. “We want to do everything ourselves. Our specialty is the vineyards and vinification. 7 hectares are manageable for 2 people on a human level, even with a certain sense of ease.” Only at the time of the wine harvest do they get help from friends, then the team grows to 10 people for the duration of two weeks.
Valérie leads us through the rooms and creates such a positive atmosphere that you can immediately see how much joy and passion she takes in her profession.
“Me, I have the memory for aromas, smells, and atmosphere … but for the rest? No!” The division of labor is therefore quite clear: Fabrice, whom unfortunately we did not see that day, is responsible for all the technology in the wine cellar.
Valérie is incredibly humorous and entertaining. When she explains a little bit about wine production to us, she adds with a laugh: “You need a liter of water to make a liter of wine. And also a liter of beer, in the refrigerator. Belgian beer, nothing else will do.” Valérie and Fabrice originally come from Belgium, had I already mentioned that?! …
And then she showed us the room where the Vin Jaunes and Vin Voilés age. On these very special Jura wines, which taste like sherry, a layer of lees (French: voile) forms over time, under which the wine ages in the absence of oxygen. The “normal” vins tradition sous voile age for 24 to 36 months under the layer of lees before being bottled.
The Vin Jaune, on the other hand, requires no less than almost 7 years of aging in the barrique. Incidentally, every barrique is marked with which wine aged in it, when, and for how long, because all this is important for the aroma the wine will ultimately have. “Every barrique has a different life than its neighboring barrique, that’s just how it is.” says Valérie.
By the way, very special climatic conditions are required for the layer of lees to form. In winter, it must be very cold in the room where the barrels are stored, sometimes even freezing. In summer, on the other hand, it must be very, very hot. These temperature fluctuations happened to occur in the past when the wine barrels were stored in the attic above the cowsheds.
Today, the room for the “vins de voile” is less insulated than the others in the building, there are ventilation louvers through which there is always an exchange of air with the outside air, so that it is very hot or very cold there depending on the season. This layer of lees cannot be artificially created, only nature and chance can do that. Valérie says about this: “It’s a bit like a casino here. You gamble.”
By the way, the vin jaune is bottled in the typically bulbous Jura bottles, but these then have a capacity of 0.62 liters. This is meant to remind us that during the almost 7 years of aging, 38% of the wine evaporates – 1 liter of wine minus 38% equals 0.62 l. This is also one of the reasons why vin jaune is relatively expensive.
Of course, Valérie is a fan of Savagnin, this very special Jura grape variety. What she appreciates about Savagnin is its versatility, paired with its unmistakable character. “Savagnin is like a mannequin. You can dress it however you want: sometimes in a bikini, sometimes in a stylish suit. But it itself, its skeleton, its structure, you always recognize.”
As for the Crémant du Jura, the wine that ultimately brought us to the Domaine du Champ Divin, she says: “Initially, I didn’t want to produce any Crémants at all. I didn’t believe that you could put your soul into “bulles” (=sparkling wine).” Fortunately for us all, she decided FOR the Crémant back then and proved to herself and us that Crémant can very well have a soul!
Finally, we wanted to know why there are extraordinarily many organic winegrowers in the Jura compared to the rest of France. Valérie says that it is somehow natural and obvious, because: “As far as work in the vineyard is concerned, it was never forgotten in the Jura.” And that is ultimately what sets organic winegrowers apart from conventional ones: to do as much work as possible preventively and naturally, so that you do not have to artificially counteract or correct it later.
