The name of this Patrick Beguet wine is a double act. ‘Oh Yeah’ is a Charles Mingus album from 1962 , and it is also, if you say it slowly enough, a pun on ‘ouillé’: the French winemaking term for wines kept topped-up in barrel, protected from oxygen rather than aged under flor. In Jura, where oxidative Savagnin under flor is the (old) tradition, making an ouillé version used to be a statement. This is Patrice Béguet saying: oh yeah, you can do that too hehe
What is ouillé Savagnin ...and why does it matter here in the name?
Patrice Béguet farms four hectares of biodynamic vines in Mesnay, Arbois, and harvests Savagnin from three different plots. The vines for Oh Yeah grow at 300 metres above sea level on grey and blue marls, the mineral-rich soils that give Jura Savagnin its distinctive tension. In the traditional old Jura method, Savagnin is left in partially-filled barrels to become used to oxygen under a film of yeast (sous voile), developing the walnut-and-curry character most often seen with Vin Jaune. The Ouillé approach keeps the barrels topped, protecting the wine from oxygen entirely, the result is something fresher, more aromatic, and more immediately drinkable. This is the usual way of making wine nowadays across France and most of the world.. but the Jura old style method is what was known as traditional because this is what the region used to be known for (and still is, but these wines are less common now)
So most wines are made in this topped up style way today, but it is interesting it needs to be referenced because Jura is (or was) so famed for oxidative wines.
Oh Yeah is 85% Savagnin, 15% Chardonnay. And 10% of the fruit sees brief skin contact; the rest is direct-pressed. No added sulphites.
We have not yet tried this wine but hear it is hazy and pale, with an immediately inviting nose: grapefruit, pineapple, a floral lift. On the palate, we expect tension with a mineral, fresh finish that lingers cleanly.
Patrice Béguet left a career as an IT consultant in Paris to return to Mesnay, near Arbois in the Jura, where he was born. Around four hectares of estate vines including plots on the famed Côte de Feule in Pupillin and Les Corvées. No added sulphites. Every wine is named after a piece of music he loves. He also has his own Negoce project too where he gets quite experimental
