Jura FR
Type, White
Grapes, Chardonnay
Alc. 12%
Year, 2015
Size, 750ml
About: Fruit from 50 year old vines on Château-Chalons north facing slopes, composed of blue marl and limestone scree. This is only the third ever bottling of this cuvée which is fermented in tanks (full malolactic fermentation) and then aged for 36 months in 225 litre old oak barrels, under flor. Umami flavours and subtle spice, with a saline finish.
Domaine Macle, in Château-Chalon, was first created by Jean Macle in 1966. The family, emanating from Italy, have farmed vines here since 1850. The domaine has been run by Jean's son Laurent and sister Christelle for the last 20 years.
The domaine is famed for it's vin jaune style wines, of which the release and sale is almost solely for loyal private customers. They only make white wines (other than some poulsard and pet-nat for family and staff) and have a very specific style due to Laurent's belief that terroir is not as important as cellar ageing. Luckily for them, the Macle domaine has a series of interconnected ancient 17th century cellars that are a mix of above-ground, semi-below ground and naturally ventilated underground. Pretty damn cool.