NEW! This is Australia’s first allocation of the domaine’s lip-smacking Jura blend. Debuting in 2018, it’s a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Savagnin (à la Puffeney) from four vineyards within the Château-Chalon area. First, there’s Sur Lya, on limestone scree over a deeper layer of Liassic grey marl, then Le Calvaire and Trémoulette, both on similar marl soils, and last, En Parelle, a biodynamically-farmed site exposed to the northwest on deep gravelly soil of white limestone. Here, David Croix and Damien Courbet want to show you a panoramic taste of Jura rather than focusing on a single terroir. 

The wine ferments and matures in 228-litre barrels (5 to 6 years old), except for En Parelle, which is raised in tank. A small portion of the Chardonnay, barely more than 5%, is separated and aged sous voile, which adds a hint of apple skin/nutty complexity.  Combining succulence from the Chardonnay and drive from the Savagnin, it’s a deliciously moreish brew that unwinds in the glass with gorgeous notes of fennel, confit citrus, salt and quince. A model of its type, it’s both textural and racy with cracking, mineral-focused length. A no-brainer if ever there was one.

NEW! Limited. Tucked away in a small valley just outside Château-Chalon, Le Calvaire is the source of the domaine’s first single-vineyard Chardonnay.  Calvaire refers to a warm place, and David Croix notes that, indeed, the grapes here are quick to ripen. The soils are composed of fine limestone scree and clay over grey marl. Croix explains that the marl soil provides the fine-grained texture and density, balanced by the vineyard’s low pH from the northeast exposure. 

The winemaking barely differs from Croix’s white Burgundies, with natural fermentation in used oak barrels (228 and 500-litre). One-third of the wine is raised in stainless steel. From 40-year-old vines, this is a gorgeous, tense, mineral-soaked Chardonnay delivering silken, pristine citrus, orange rind and white blossom with a finish that fizzes with potential. A thrilling freshman release. 

Limited. This year’s Côtes du Jura blend is drawn from Arbois and Château-Chalon. The parcel in Arbois—En Chemenot, from which the pair also make a single-vineyard Savagnin—is organically farmed, with Croix and Courbet involved in the harvesting decisions. In Château-Chalon, Sur Lya is exposed to the west on shallow clay-silt topsoil with limestone scree over a deeper layer of Liassic grey marl. 

Regarding the winemaking, every bunch is harvested by hand, and the grapes go through a three-hour press cycle with whole clusters lightly crushed. All ferments are natural; the Sur Lya parcel ferments and matures in tank, while the Arbois fruit goes into used oak. Every care is taken to keep sulphur additions in the range of 20-30 ppm (none is added during maturation, and there was only a slight adjustment at bottling). 

More lifted than the 2020 and more layered than the 2021, it’s savoury and wonderfully lucid—a Savagnin of striking depth and character. Humming with energy and drive, the palate is loaded with rocky, compact texture flecked by citrus, yellow flower and crushed stone, sculpted by powdery grip and a zesty, incisive beam of freshness. Hard to find the words to do the wine justice; it’s just a beautiful, engagingly complex white that keeps you on the edge of the seat. 

Limited. The Arbois lieu-dit of En Chemenot lies just east of the village (Domaine des Cavarodes bottles a Poulsard from the same site). The soils are blue and grey marl on this north-facing hillside plot at 350 metres’ elevation. The Savagnin was planted in 2004, and the vineyard is managed using organic and biodynamic methods. Courbet is delighted with the quality coming from these vines (a portion of which is also used for the Côtes du Jura blend).

The winemaking here is similar to the Côtes du Jura—hand harvest, natural yeasts, low sulphur, etc. This cuvée was vinified in cement egg tank (90%), with 10% in a one-year-old barrel. Croix likes the tension and minerality the egg brings to the density of this vineyard’s fruit. And tension is again the word. It’s a denser and more complex expression than the Côtes de Jura blend, with a powerful, compact palate bristling with energy. It treads a fine line between crystalline, stone-like minerality and layered generosity, with a textured mouthfeel pulled taut by vibrant freshness and a nip of phenolic bite. A strikingly pure wine of length and precision. Delightful.

Limited. This is our second allocation of En Beaumont, a highly regarded lieu-dit of Château-Chalon. The vineyard is farmed by Courbet himself and is currently in organic conversion. The Savagnin vines were planted in 1962, 1985 and 1991 and are rooted in gently sloping clay and limestone scree (60-80 cm deep) over blue and grey marl. Courbet believes the chalky soils of En Beaumont—carved from the dramatic cliffs that surround the village—respond best to barrel maturation, so this cuvée is raised in large oak for 12 months before a further six months in tank. Again, there is no sulphur addition until bottling. The wine is labelled Côtes du Jura as the Chateau-Chalon AOC is only for Vin Jaune.

The 2022 En Beaumont is, as they might say in Burgundy, this year’s ‘queen of the cellar’. It’s an elegant and enchanting wine of limpid, stone-sculpted texture seasoned with a weave of chalk, savoury spice, citrus and stone fruit. It finishes gloriously long and dew-fresh, with a spun-out salt-flecked close. This is first-class winemaking from David Croix and Damien Courbet. At the table, this could work with anything that can be matched with great white Burgundy (even if it has its own unique persona). Again, it’s a wine that enjoys a decant at this early stage.