Domaine des Marnes Blanches, Les Molates Chardonnay, 2020

Zesty, Honeysuckle, Zippy

An assemblage of different parcels on marl and limestone soils in Gevingey, 35yo vines on average, facing west. Vinified and aged in foudres with no bâtonnage, the wine was bottled in July the following year. This is a zippy and lean style of chardonnay that is always great. I really think Marnes Blanches are still such good value for the quality of wines the are knocking out.

Notes on the producer

Natives of the Jura, both Pauline and Géraud’s families owned tiny plots (used to make wine for home consumption) and spending time in the vines in their childhood was enough to give them the wine bug. They met while studying winemaking in Dijon and created Domaine des Marnes Blanches when they returned to the Jura in 2006. They farmed organically from the word go and have added (some planted) parcels along the way to reach a total of 12ha today, spread across three towns in the Sud-Revermont (south of the Côtes-du-Jura AC).

They recently built a new winery off the main road in Ste-Agnès which gives them plenty of space and allows them to vinify and age every parcel separately. Wild yeast fermentation is the norm, wines are fermented in stainless steel and then aged in minimum 5yo 228 to 600ltr barrels. Sulphur is used sparsely for the whites (around 20mg/l total) or not at all for the reds.