CÔTES DU JURA CHARDONNAY 2018

Several generations have been necessary to patiently built one of the largest and greatest estates in the area, focused on key appellations such as Château-Chalon, l’Étoile and Arbois. The Domaine MAIRE & Fils covers nowadays 218 hectares of vines producing all the area grapes varieties.
The Chardonnay grape variety, originating from Burgundy but cultivated in the Jura since the 10th Century, has become a native of the region.
Its great adaptability makes it the most prominent grape variety today, especially on limestone and light soils.
They are pressed, and musts are settling under control temperature.
Then the fermentation starts, maintained at low temperature (20- 22°C). Ageing in stainless steel tanks, on fine lees and for 2 -3 months to aid the preservation of the wine's minerality, purity of fruit and crisp acidity.
The beautiful minerality on the palate reveals a racy and elegant wine.
2 to 3 years.
There are vintages that make a mark on a whole region, and the 2018 will no doubt be one of these. Harvesting began on 20 August with the Crémants. They lasted for a month and the weather was perfect and quality exceptional. The grapes were in perfect health and had reached optimum ripeness.
The end of the winter was very cold with intense episodes of frost, which prolonged the dormancy of the vines. Bud-burst was later than usual but there were no spring frosts. The spring was very hot, with rain and frequent storms. There was even some hail, but fortunately, the estate’s vines were spared.
Summer was hot and dry, as it was across France, even on the vine-growing plateaus of the Jura, which are usually cooler.
Conditions were perfect for sunny harvesting. Apart from the Savagnin varietal, which is more sensitive, and suffered a little from the intense heat, the harvest was abundant and very high in quality.