Domaine Pignier : Chardonnay de la Reculée 2023

Characteristics and Tasting Advice for the Chardonnay de la Reculée 2023 from Domaine Pignier

Tasting

Color
The color displays a brilliant pale gold hue.

Nose
The bouquet reveals delicate aromas of white flowers and yellow fruits, accompanied by subtle notes of vanilla.

Palate
The attack reveals a crystalline liveliness that sweeps across the palate with freshness and balance.

Food and wine pairings

This wine is a perfect match as an aperitif. It also pairs elegantly with seafood, grilled fish, as well as frog legs.

Serving and cellaring

The Chardonnay de la Reculée 2023 is best enjoyed at a temperature of 12°C. This wine has exceptional ageing potential and can develop until around 2043.

A Jura chardonnay of crystalline purity

The estate

Founded in the 13th century by Carthusian monks in Montaigu in the Jura, Domaine Pignier has belonged to the same family since 1794. Marie-Florence, Antoine and Jean-Étienne Pignier, representing the seventh generation, now run this 15-hectare estate, farmed entirely biodynamically since 1998. The only winegrowers in the village, they work with the five Jura grape varieties and stand out for their genuine biodynamic commitment and the remarkable minerality of their wines.

The vineyard

This Côtes du Jura wine comes from the Reculée of the Vallière valley in Montaigu, a sheltered valley benefiting from the influence of the moutaine, a foehn-type wind characteristic of the region. The chardonnay vines, from a massal selection called "Melon à Queue Rouge", take root in bluish-black micaceous marls rich in fossils, topped with clayey sandy limestones. This distinctive terroir gives the wine its unique character.

Winemaking and ageing

The 2023 harvest took place on September 23 and 25, with careful sorting carried out directly in the vineyard. The Chardonnay de la Reculée 2023 is made according to certified Demeter biodynamic principles. After a slow pressing, the wine ferments and ages for 18 months in 228-liter oak barrels. No settling, racking, filtration, or inoculation is carried out. This Jura wine benefits from regular lees stirring and constant topping up. Bottling was carried out on a "Flower" day in the lunar calendar, with natural cork stoppers.

Grape variety

100% chardonnay (massal selection "Melon à Queue Rouge").