Domaine du Pélican Arbois Chardonnay En Barbi 2020
Domaine du Pélican have been farming 'En Barbi' for almost a decade, but for the past few years, they have been vinifying the Chardonnay grapes grown here separately from the other Chardonnay plots, in order to taste it as "single vineyard" during ageing. The En Barbi vineyard is an extremely special plot (one of the finest in the Jura), south facing, sheltered from the winds and so rich in limestone that it actually looks white! Francois Duvivier believes that the presence of such a large amount of marl in the soil contributes to wines with more minerality, volume, and length than a “classic” soil of clay and limestone. He describes the balance between the soil type (marl) and the exposure (south) being the main factors in the uniqueness of 'En Barbi' as a plot. After a couple of years experimenting 2018 was the first vintage released in bottles as a single vineyard expression. The wine is aged in a combination of oak barrels (50%), Foudre (30%) and vats (20%). A beautiful chalky and mineral-driven Chardonnay that oozes with flavours of ripe yellow fruit, chalk, green apple, and toast.