Description
Les Matheny, Arbois Chardonnay
In the minds of sommeliers, two qualities define the allure of Jura: (1) a Murderers’ Row of cult winemaking figures and (2) some of the most head-spinning and profound white wine experiences on the planet—today’s Arbois Chardonnay from Les Matheny encapsulates both.
Not only does this cuvée sing with the soulful, countryside complexity of Jura’s most famous bottlings, but it also establishes winemaker Emeric Foléat as the region’s latest legend in the making. Exploding with bruised orchard fruit, crackling acidity, and the Jura’s signature voile-inflected minerality, it’s a single-bottle summation of what makes this region and its producers so special. Great Jura Chardonnay like this is unparalleled; there’s simply nothing in the world of wine quite like it. Consider also Emeric’s minuscule production, and the fact that his Chardonnay easily bests many similarly-priced Burgundy, and you’ve got exactly the sort of wine sommeliers spend entire careers hyping. If you geek out over Burgundian Chardonnay, then today’s perfectly aged and deeply expressive offering from its rural neighbor will bring rapturous thrills.
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NOTE: This wine is only available as a pre-offer and will be arriving at our warehouse in two weeks.
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The list of producers who produce Jura magic year in and year out is short, and every name on it is an object of wine geek reverence: Houillon-Overnoy, Ganevat, Labet. And then there was Jacques Puffeney, who, for decades before his 2015 retirement, produced the benchmark wines of the region. So intrinsically linked was Puffeney to the region’s identity that he was known as “the Pope of Arbois” (Arbois being the small village that functions as the Jura’s winemaking capital). For eight years, Emeric Foléat worked by Puffeney’s side, learning the carefully considered, yet stringently hands-off, methods that produce the region’s best wines. In 2007, Emeric began Les Methany, his own project, with his wife Elise.
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Les Matheny is the epitome of small-scale production. Emeric and Elise are both Jura natives, and they converted an old family farmhouse into their cellar. They farm a mere 3.5 hectares, and what’s produced each year from their vineyards follows no set recipe or marketing schedule. Instead, they produce blends or single-varietal bottlings based on what nature provides for a given harvest. For his Arbois Chardonnay, old 600-liter barrels are topped off or allowed to age oxidatively (a common Jura technique) based on each one’s individual identity, and after 24 months of maturation, a final blend is concocted. Their winemaking is as minimal as you can get, with only the occasional sulfur addition, and the resulting wines sing with unadorned precision and clarity.
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Emeric and Elise’s 2018 Chardonnay may be the most resounding testament to their skill yet. Treat it like great white Burgundy, in wide stems at 55 degrees, and buckle up. It pours a shimmering, straw-like yellow with flecks of copper. The nose soars out of the glass with bruised green and red apples, grilled pineapple, quince paste, dried lemon, fresh-cut hay, lanolin, sea salt, marzipan, and faint spiced honey. The palate is dense, concentrated, and unabashedly powerful with creamy, lightly oxidative orchard fruit—but it’s kept fresh and lively throughout thanks to scintillating acidity. It’s an experience almost overwhelming in its intensity, so packed full of character and complexity, while also remaining deeply pleasurable. It is, in short, a high watermark for Jura whites, and the sort of bottle our entire team was talking about days after tasting. The legend has arrived. Grab what you can!
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