Francois Rousset-Martin - "La Chaux" Chardonnay Cotes du Jura Blanc France 2018 750ml (13.5% ABV)

Exceptional Chard (due to the warmth of 2018 vintage Francois did not top off the barrels for the first 6 months, so this is a nice in-between of ouillé and non-ouillé) from the limestone and marl slopes of Chateau-Chalon (a region more known for Savagnin).

Francois Rousset first caught the wine-bug growing up in Burgundy where his father was a micro-biologist for the Hospices de Beaune. After earning an oenology degree and continuing his journey in the Southern Rhone and Languedoc regions, he returned to his Jura roots and in 2007 officially launched his winery. 

Since Francois does not make his Chardonnays in the traditional (noticeably oxidized) style of Jura, he must label them as simply Cotes du Jura.

"La Chaux" is a single parcel of just .4 hectares and 65 year old vines. 

candied lemon, spice, beeswax, slightly nutty, complex and exotic, sesame, ginger, savory, delicious with serious depth, laser like acidity and tension

region:  Jura, France

varietal:  Chardonnay

style: powerful white

farming/cellar:  practicing organic, aged 14 months in barrels on fine lees (with the first 6 months not topped off to allow for a small amount of flor to form) bottled unfined, unfiltered, minimal added so2

pairing: grilled cheese with sauteed mushrooms, scallops, poached salmon