Terre de Gryphees Chardonnay Domaine de la Tournelle 2019

Terre de Gryphees Chardonnay Domaine de la Tournelle, biodynamic wine, 100% Chardonnay, unique terroir expression, mineral and fine yet rich and profound, stunning Jura wine. Terre de Gryphees Chardonnay is a beautifully balanced white wine. It shows how good and elegant Jura white wine can be when it is not made in an oxidative style and Terre de Gryphees is an alternative to top Puligny Montrachet as a much lower price. The very low yields and strict adherence to biodynamic principles make this wine surely one of the best in the Jura. I use the word freshness a lot to describe wine but this is fresh, fresh, fresh! Considering the level of minerality and complexity in the wine and the 2 years of oak ageing, Terre de Gryphees has a quite sublime level of taught fresh, citrus fruit and elegance. It is a wine that drinks like young Puligny and ages like great Meursault.

Evelyne and Pascal Clairet own 7 hectares in the region around Arbois, the famous wine growing capital of the Jura.

They farm biodynamically and follow Maria Thun's calender in all their operations. They use no sulphur at bottling, but sometimes add 2 or 3 grams per litre earlier in the wine making. Unlike many Jura producers, they are looking to avoid oxygen in most of their wines to keep the freshness of the fruit. Their wines are a combination of golden Chardonnay fruit and Jura minerals. They are linear and precise and have the most incredible texture of any Chardonnay we have tasted. Top Burgundy wines sell for incredible prices but in terms of quality, complexity and sheer pleasure in drinking, I have not come across many Chardonnay that rival the wines of Domaine de la Tournelle. Their Savagnin is also of outstanding quality, and they make some fascinating and unique reds.