Appellation
L'Étoile
Identity card
RegionalAOPWhiteSweet
Jura · Recognised on 31 July 1937
Key points
- White only: dry, vin jaune and vin de paille, from 4 communes.
- One possible origin of the name: the star-shaped fossil crinoids.
- Whites: at most 60 hl/ha and at least 10.5% natural alcohol.
Grape varieties
White
Accessory varieties: Poulsard
"Vin jaune": Savagnin (Enfariné, Gringet allowed under agreement)
Never from Poulsard alone; principal varieties form the majority
Sweet
Allowed varieties
"Vin de paille": grapes dried for at least six weeks, unheated
Production rules
60
hl/ha
Maximum yield
10.5
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
5,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: Vin jaune: at least 6 years in cask, never topped up, 60+ months under flor
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 96 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 14 % ABV across 46 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 105 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Five hills set like a star, rising to 320–420 m
- Soils: Triassic and Lias marls, rich in fossil crinoids
- Aspect: 20–40% slopes, mostly south-facing, out of the north wind
Wine style
- White
- Gunflint
- topped up: floral, fruity
- oxidative: walnut, hazelnut
- vin jaune: apple, spice
- Sweet
- Honey
- Candied orange
- Prune
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
2 September 2026
Arrêté du 2 septembre 2026 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine protégée « L'Etoile » (JORF n°0207 du 5 septembre 2026, texte n°17 ; NOR AGRT2619659A ; publié au Bulletin officiel du ministère de l'agriculture le 17 septembre 2026), abrogeant le décret n° 2011-1096 du 9 septembre 2011. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 31 juillet 1937.
Labelling terms
- "Vin jaune": Savagnin aged under flor, in the 62 cl clavelin
- "Vin de paille": a sweet wine; the vintage must be on the label
- A registered lieu-dit may appear, in letters at most half as large
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine protégée « L'Etoile »— INAO / Ministère de l'agriculture (Bulletin officiel)
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Reference bookWine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours— Allen Lane / Ecco (HarperCollins)
- Trade bodyLe mystérieux vin jaune— Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins du Jura (CIVJ), site officiel des vins du Jura
An appellation reserved for still white wines, across four communes in the Jura including the one that gives it its name. Recognised by the decree of 31 July 1937, it carries Chardonnay and Savagnin as a dry white (with Poulsard allowed as an accessory) and, under the complementary "vin jaune" mention, Savagnin alone, aged at least six years in barrel without topping up — the same release rule as its three Jura neighbours.
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L'Étoile
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