Marnes Blanches Cremant du Jura

Grapes: Chardonnay

Region: Jura, France

Vintage: NV

Viticulture: Organic

Soils: Fossilized Limestone over Marl

Vinification: Direct press, then fermented in stainless steel, then aged in oak barrels over the winter. Put into bottle for secondary fermentation

Aging: 12 months on lees

Fining or Filtering: None

Dosage: 0 g/L

Notes from the Importer: Natives of the Jura, both Pauline and Géraud’s families owned tiny plots (used to make wine for home consumption) and spending time in the vines in their childhood was enough to give them the wine bug. They met while studying winemaking in Dijon and created Domaine des Marnes Blanches when they returned to the Jura in 2006.

They farmed organically from the word go and have added (some planted) parcels along the way to reach a total of 12ha today, spread across three towns in the Sud-Revermont (south of the Côtes-du-Jura AC). Cesancey, their first acquisition, is home to the white marl after which the domaine is named, while Gevingey, Vincelles and Ste-Agnès have more varied soil types, the majority being red marl and gryphées (limestone rich in fossils).

They recently built a new winery off the main road in Ste-Agnès which gives them plenty of space and allows them to vinify and age every parcel separately. Wild yeast fermentation is the norm, wines are fermented in stainless steel and then aged in minimum 5yo 228 to 600ltr barrels. Sulphur is used sparsely for the whites (around 20mg/l total) or not at all for the reds.