Grape Guide
Savagnin
WhiteSavagnin is an ancient white variety of eastern France, the sole grape of vin jaune and Château-Chalon in the Jura and, by DNA profile, the same vine as Traminer. Its pink-skinned clones include Savagnin Rose and Gewürztraminer, and it is a parent or grandparent of several major European varieties.
Key Characteristics
- Very old variety with wide clonal diversity: green-yellow Savagnin Blanc, pink Savagnin Rose and aromatic Gewürztraminer share one DNA profile
- Ripens very late, with picking in the Jura running well into October or beyond
- Small, thick-skinned berries and naturally low, temperamental yields
- Does best on the grey and Lias marls of the Jura
- High acidity carries both oxidative ageing under a yeast veil and fresher topped-up (ouillé) styles
Typical Flavors
Major Regions
Jura (France) · Château-Chalon · Arbois · L'Etoile · Côtes du Jura · Valais (Switzerland) · Barossa and McLaren Vale (Australia)
Also Known As
Traminer · Traminer Weiss · Traminac · Gentil Blanc · Savagnin Blanc · Heida (German-speaking Valais) · Païen (French-speaking Valais) · Savagnin Rose (pink mutation) · Gewürztraminer (aromatic pink mutation) · Traminer Aromatico (Alto Adige) · Tramini (Hungary)
Overview
Savagnin is the Jura's signature white grape, though it covers only a minority of the region's vineyards. It makes two contrasting kinds of wine: oxidative bottlings aged in partly filled barrels beneath a film of yeast, of which vin jaune is the benchmark, and fresher ouillé wines in which the barrels are kept topped up. Aromas run from green apple and quince to walnut, curry spice and smoke, always with firm acidity underneath. Genetically it is one variety with Traminer, and the vine's clonal diversity explains why growers once treated Savagnin Blanc, Savagnin Rose and Gewürztraminer as separate grapes. The pink, aromatic forms dominate in Alsace, Germany and Alto Adige, while the green-yellow form is rarer, grown in the Jura, the Valais and a handful of New World sites. Wines are usually dry, structured and long-lived.
Origins & History
Savagnin probably arose in the area spanning north-eastern France and south-western Germany. Its parentage is debated, with three scenarios proposed: it descends from Pinot crossed naturally with a partner nobody has identified; it is the offspring of two varieties that no longer exist; or it began as a wild vine that people took into cultivation. The name is usually linked to the French word sauvage ("wild"), and the variety appears in records under various names from the Middle Ages onward. Many assume the name comes from Tramin in South Tyrol, yet that link has been doubted: for a long time "Traminer" there covered wines from several unrelated grapes, and the variety was not described by Italian ampelographers until the nineteenth century. In the Upper Valais, the Swiss name Heida is first recorded in written sources in 1586. DNA work places Savagnin near the centre of the European white-grape family tree. Crossed with Gouais Blanc, it gave rise to Aubin Blanc and Petit Meslier. Crossed with another parent, unidentified and probably extinct, it produced Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Trousseau, which makes Savagnin a grandparent of Cabernet Sauvignon as well. Each of these pairings with Savagnin yielded a further variety: Österreichisch Weiss gave Silvaner, Roter Veltliner gave Rotgipfler, and St. Georgener-Rebe gave Grüner Veltliner. Savagnin and Pinot are confirmed as parent and offspring, though which came first is still unsettled, and Petit Manseng is probably descended from Savagnin. In 2009, DNA testing in Australia revealed that vines sold for years as Albariño were actually Savagnin, a finding that made headlines.
Viticultural Characteristics
Savagnin ripens very late; in the Jura picking runs well into October and in cool years later still, usually a couple of weeks behind neighbouring varieties. Berries are small with thick skins and crops are naturally light, a temperamental profile shared with Gewürztraminer. The vine performs best on the grey and Lias marls typical of the Jura, notably around Château-Chalon, where the soils suit its slow ripening. Because the variety has diversified through centuries of cuttings, berry colour, aroma intensity and cluster compactness differ between selections, so the choice of clone matters more than for most grapes. French plantings were about 472 ha in 2007 and 510 ha in the 2011 vineyard census, almost all of it in the Jura.
Wine Styles & Characteristics
Vin jaune is the defining wine: pure Savagnin aged for a minimum of six years and three months in barrels that are not topped up, so that a yeast veil forms on the surface, and then bottled in the 62 cl clavelin. Only four appellations may produce it: Arbois, Côtes du Jura, L'Etoile and Château-Chalon, the last of which makes nothing else. It resembles fino sherry in its flor-like character but is unfortified and not blended across vintages, and shows walnut, curry spice and dried fruit with a very long finish. Ouillé Savagnin, made without oxidation, is a more recent style than vin jaune and gives floral, apple and quince wines closer in spirit to Traminer. Savagnin is also blended with Chardonnay in dry whites, goes into Crémant du Jura and the fortified Macvin du Jura, and makes vin de paille from dried grapes. In Valais, Heida yields both table and sweet wines.