Rijckaert Arbois Chardonnay
Style - Traditional
While this chardonnay is on the fairly muted, fresh and crisp side at first, it opens up into a symphony of structure and richness. With bright notes of lemon balanced by warm sweetness of ripened pear, it is a white wine perfect for drinking right now with a decadent, dark meat such as duck.
Established in 1998 by longtime winemaker Jean Rijckaert, who fell in love with the terroir in both the Macon and in Jura, this unique estate has cellars and produces wine in both regions. Without heirs, Jean partnered with his brilliant student Florent Rouve and groomed him until he was ready to take over managing the estate and all winemaking in 2013.
The “savoir-faire” that made the outstanding reputation of these wines – restricted yields, manual harvesting, slow and moderate pressings, indigenous yeasts, limited batonnage to favor acidity, long aging – has been preserved, perhaps even enhanced, with the incredibly talented Florent taking over at the helm of the estate, while Jean consults at key stages in the process. All wines are aged in oak barrels with no racking, stirring or any disruption during élevage. These beautifully crafted wines soulfully represent some of the best in natural winemaking, which aims to express the typicity of the grape and the specificity of the terroir.