# Chardonnay 'La Marcette' (2023)

- **Producer:** Cellier Saint Benoît
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Chardonnay
- **Region:** Jura, France
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 13.0%
- **Average price:** €65
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** peach, quince, pear, blossom, cedar, butter, honey

## About this wine

Cellier Saint Benoît is a historic family estate in Pupillin, Jura, spanning four generations. Historically selling grapes to the local cooperative, the estate shifted to bottling its own wines under Denis Benoît. In 2019, at just 23 years old, Denis's son Benjamin Benoît took over management after training under prestigious Burgundian producers including Nicholas Faure, Charles Lachaux, and Amélie Berthaut. Benjamin brought a Burgundian micro-terroir focus to Pupillin and was named Jura Winemaker of the Year 2021 by Le Guide Hachette. La Marcette comes from a 0.60-hectare parcel of vines planted in 1982 by Benjamin's grandfather at the top of the Les Charots hill, planted on Triassic marl and limestone soils.

## Interesting facts

- Benjamin Benoît trained under Burgundian icons like Charles Lachaux before returning to manage the estate at age 23.
- Only 6,454 bottles of the 2023 'La Marcette' cuvée were produced.
- The grapes are pressed using a traditional vertical oak press and aged in neutral barrels without fining or filtration.

## Food pairing

The wine's substantial texture and high acidity allow it to cut through rich sauces, poultry fat, and creamy textures while harmonizing with earthy mushroom profiles and aged mountain cheeses.

## Wine making process

Harvested by hand, the Chardonnay grapes undergo whole-cluster pressing in a traditional vertical oak press, followed by a 24-hour static cold settling. Fermentation occurs spontaneously using indigenous yeasts in neutral oak barrels. The wine undergoes aging for 9 months in neutral foudres and oak barrels (228L and 600L) on fine lees. Produced in the ouillé (topped-up, non-oxidative) style, it is bottled without fining or filtration, receiving only minimal sulfur dioxide after malolactic fermentation prior to bottling.