We love Chardonnay. We love it from all corners of the world. But we very specifically love it when it takes us a little by surprise.
When we hear “Jura,” our first image is not necessarily of fresh, high-toned, terroir-driven wines that taste like licking juice off of cold marble. But here we are, drinking that very wine and loving every second of it. At first glance, today’s Arbois AOP Chardonnay could be mistaken for one of our favorite producers from Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune, but it’s actually much, much better than that: less expensive and just as carefully made, with the added cachet of tripping up your friends in a blind tasting and being utterly, unavoidably delicious. Today's 2016 from Frédéric Lornet is a revival and a revolution rolled into one, and a ridiculously good value for a wine that reminds you of your favorite Burgundies without ever pretending to be one. Welcome to Jura 2.0: If you love focused, fresh, mineral-driven French Chardonnay, this is not to be missed!
Given Jura’s current popularity with sommeliers, it’s hard to imagine that 50 years ago there were fewer than 1,000 hectares of vines dotting that lush, fairytale landscape. First there was phylloxera, then there was mildew, World War I, and a fancy new railway system that opened up the Languedoc to a legion of city-dwelling French. Jura was forgotten by contemporary drinkers, left behind in a tangle of diseased vines. But the region that gave us the word “Jurassic” is more patient than most, and a careful rebuilding began.
Today there are still less than 2,000 hectares planted to vine, and their famously wild, funky, oxidative whites—the Sherry-like vins jeaune (“yellow wines”) of yore—have made room for a more mainstream style that prefers the subtlety of terroir over pure adherence to tradition. These are the ouillé wines—aging vessels are filled right to the top, and kept topped-up, to protect the wine from oxygen to produce a much fresher, mineral-driven, ‘Burgundian’ type of Chardonnay. Jura is gently being nudged into the 21st century thanks to the increasing popularity of these conventionally made whites from the region, championed by producers like our Frédéric Lornet, excited about giving their Burgundian neighbors a run for their money.
The Lornet family were one of the first to bottle Arbois AOP wines. Frédéric is the third generation to steward the domaine, originally started by his grandfather Eugene. Their winery is nestled in a 13th century Cistercian Abbey—one of many dotting the richly forested countryside. The cellars are tucked into a secret fold of the abbey, kept cool by walls of creamy limestone. Below the winery spreads a patchwork of vine, on average 30 years old. There are 16 different plots once delimited by the monks of the Abbey and now organized according to variety.
Where Lornet’s facilities are ancient, the winemaking is strategically modern. The Lornet’s are making high-toned, floral white over the oxidative style indigenous to the region. They’re taking every conceivable precaution to express the astonishing variation in aspect, elevation, and soil type that can be found in the Jura, making a range of both whites and reds that experiment with a more conventional style without flouting the rich traditions of the region. The Arbois AOP Chardonnay is a peek into the future—destemmed carefully before being pressed and racked into stainless steel for a cold, slow, controlled fermentation. The wine is transferred to neutral oak and—in the true ouillé style—topped-up regularly for optimal purity of flavor and terroir.
Lornet’s textured gem will show its best if let it sit in decanter for 30 minutes and pour it into Burgundy stems a couple of degrees below cellar temperature (50-52 degrees). It’s a beguiling golden yellow in the glass. The nose is bright and herby and smells a bit like the batter for a French pound cake: lemon zest, tart yogurt, and brown sugar. The first sip coaxes the saliva from the corners of your mouth with a firm minerality and the flavor of salty buddha’s hand and crunchy pears. The central note is a touch earthier: fresh white mushrooms and dried peaches. Despite its brightness, this is still a dense, satisfying Chardonnay with enough complexity to keep your palate tingling long after you’ve swallowed.
Don’t do this wine the disservice of heavy food. Sauté some thick, fresh scallops in butter and eat them with your fingers right out of the pan between sips of wine. If seafood isn’t your thing, there’s always olive-oil roasted chicken with a squirt of Meyer lemon. Accompany either with little German butterball potatoes rolled in sea-salt and parsley. Take your time. Admire this wine’s ability to stretch luxuriously in the glass, becoming more and more itself as you enjoy it over the course of an evening...and again, and again, and again for many nights to come.
