January 6, 2024 - At Dyletanci, Warszaw. Right on opening dominated by strong smoke and dark mineral aroma, this blows over after a little while in decanther though, although a slight note of light smoke, but in a pleasant way keeps throughout together with, ripe yellow fruit, candied lemon peel, almonds, white flowers and crushed rocks. Great conentration on the palate, which echoes the nose, med + acid, med body, and a long juicy finish, with slightly too much alcohol warmth in the end for my personal taste.
November 25, 2023 - 13.5% ABV. Light to medium lemon colour. Lightly reductive nose. Lemon, apple, young peach, grape, yeast, and chalky and salty minerality, with good, fresh acidity and very good length. Good tension, concentration and freshness, and great persistence. Medium-bodied, medium-complex, and well-structured, with good balance despite of its youth. Very integrated on day two. I agree with the associations with white Burgundy. A very good Chardonnay that should age well.
September 5, 2023 - Super intense chalky nose, mineral and salty. A bit of smoky reduction coming through. Dense lemon pith. Lemon and laser like acidity. Tense and linear. Lots of length and beautiful slate minerality. Palate seems like it could be a little closed, fruit seems perhaps under-expressive. But still precise and pristine. I can see the comparisons to white Burgundy.
August 1, 2023 - Healthy medium-intense yellow color. This seems in some kind of in between stage, the early primary energy is gone a little and the mature notes are not there yet. Nevertheless, a very pretty Chardonnay. Notes of lemon oil, a little bit of sweet spices, but also plenty of salty, chalky minerality, yellow fruit, also some almond kind of thing, a little bit of hay, too. It‘s medium-full bodied, with medium+ acidity that is sneaking up on you and a touch of alcoholic warmth I could do without, but what can you do in such a hot vintage. Good length. A pretty elegant Chardonnay from this very good producer.
March 5, 2023 - Expressive nose delivering lots of Bartlett pear, golden apple, ripe pineapple and preserved ginger (almost like a botrytis character) woven with savoury notes of earth. The palate has a strident mineral-edged acid on entry, mouth-cleansing, that washes over and through all the ripe fruits. Intense, there is a flesh and the riper botrytic fruit gives an undeniable sweet feeling to the mid-palate. Medium to full-bodied, there is some power and the acid keeps it all in check as it dries the back palate and the mineral shards of Jura kick in! A riper Jura style that works well.
This is their debut vintage for 750 ml bottles. Planted on a south-facing sheltered plot (15 yr old) at 400 asl. Soils are clay over marl. Use 350 and 500 L barrels along with foudre and 20% in vats.
August 22, 2022 - Another solid bottle, similar to prior.
January 19, 2022 - First bottle from the Pelican project and it was quite enjoyable; the nose is a bit tight, but with air/swirling shows some apple/pear, lots of mineral/stone hints, floral notes, and lemon peel. The palate on the other hand feels open and ready with delicious ripe orchard fruits followed by a lovely driving saline/mineral sensation. The finish shows the ripe fruits with a bit of florals and is juicy and quite tasty. Very good value for the quality.
November 5, 2021 - Nose - creamy, custard, hint of anise
Mouth - creamy full bodied rich custard good acidity. Hint of almond or almond skin. A more traditional chard than I was expecting given the region and producer. Good if you like Chardonnay. Not over complicated with oak or other makeup. Perhaps with time in bottle it will morph into sometime more interesting.
September 15, 2021 - The biodynamically farmed fruit is sourced from the En Barbi vineyard, replanted about 15 years ago. Always vinified separately, the wine was first released as a single-vineyard wine in its 2016 vintage. Fermented spontaneously, aged in oak barrels of 350 to 500 liters (50%), foudres (30%) and vats (20%). 13.5% alcohol.
Quite youthful, pale yellow color with pale green highlights. Slightly stuffy nose with a bit of flatulent reduction, otherwise coming across as rather closed at first. However, the wine slowly opens up in glass, exhibiting somewhat reticent notes of apricots, some red apples, light mineral notes of chalk dust and a hint of creamy oak. The wine is quite ripe, broad and full-bodied for a Jura Chardonnay, yet retains that classic firmness, thanks to the racy acidity. At first the wine feels rather closed, but it slowly opens up, revealing flavors of pronounced saline minerality, tart Granny Smith apple, some creamy oak notes, a little bit of sweet white peach, light zesty citrus notes, a hint of slightly bitter chalk dust and a touch of smoky reduction. The very high acidity lends great intensity to the wine and keeps the sense of ripeness nicely in check. The zippy finish is mouthwatering and moderately long with bright flavors of steely minerality, ripe citrus fruits, some tart Granny Smith apple, light creamy oak tones, a little bit of stony minerality and a sweeter hint of juicy white fruits.
A Chardonnay that felt similarly closed and reductive as Pélican's 2018 Grand Curoulet Chardonnay, but this wine opens up more with air, coming across as a bit more impressive and vibrant. However, the overall feel is still a bit closed and reticent, really calling for additional aging - at the moment the wine simply doesn't seem to be at its best. The style here is not particularly true to Jura, but instead comes across as a bit Burgundian - and I can see where that comes from - but thanks to the pronounced salinity and racy acidity the wine still has one foot firmly in Jura, even though otherwise the wine has a bit more Burgundian feel. I don't know whether that will lessen or increase as the wine ages, but all in all the wine is pretty lovely for what it is and it seems to hold quite a bit of aging potential. I'd age it for another 5-7 years - or much longer - just to let the wine have an opportunity to show its best. Perhaps a bit expensive for the quality at approx. 42€, but not forbiddingly so.
July 13, 2021 - Excellent chardo qui fait tres meursault. Beau fruite, belle longueur, belle texture.