Fruitiere Vinicole Arbois Chardonnay 2019 75cl

Tasting Note

A lovely light, fresh style of Chardonnay with just a hint of skin contact giving the wine a complexity and depth. It really is a bit like a Chablis, a very good Chablis, at a fraction of the price.

Producer

Established in 1906 and claiming to be the oldest co-operative in France, the Arbois Fruitière has played a significant role in the history and development of modern Jura wines. Since its founding, its members fought hard to protect the good name of Arbois, with their work being rewarded in 1936 when Arbois became one of the first of the new appellations to be born.

Today around 100 members (with an average holding of around three hectares) deliver approximately one-third of the of the AOC’s production to the co-operative. Only twenty members are full time vignerons, whilst another ten have either cattle or other crops. The balance are members with small-holdings or employed elsewhere full-time, working their vines at the weekend or in the evenings. The rest are retired.

With a combination of ancient and modern cellars, the wines have been an extremely reliable source of Jura wines for over ten decades now. In the early 1990s, an existing building was adapted for the storage of Vin Jaune. Around 3,000 barrels can be seen ageing through the metal grates that are otherwise exposed to the vagaries of the weather – well below freezing in winter, but can reach 30 degrees centigrade in summer – ideal conditions for the characteristic flor yeast that determines the style of this unique local wine.

_{Country: France | Region: Jura | Alcohol: TBC | Grapes: Chardonnay}