Buronfosse - Les Ammonites 2018

It has been a while since we had a Jura Chardonnay in the glass and that with the ever-growing enthusiasm for these wines. This time the wine comes from the Domaine Buronfosse. Peggy and Jean Pascal Buronfosse make their wines in the south of the Jura on about 4 hectares. As with the other wines and wineries from the Jura presented here so far, they work very close to nature. Much is done by hand and completely without synthetic sprays. Almost as a matter of course, the grapes are fermented spontaneously after harvest. Then gently pressed and the wine for Les Ammonites is then aged for 18 months in used barrique before it is filled with minimal added sulfur. The wine takes its name from its subsoil, the vines stand on gray marl, a mixture of limestone and clay, in which you can often find fossilized ammonites.

Immediately after opening, it smells of mirabelle plum liqueur, iodine and fresh peaches. Behind that comes a hint of fermented apple skin, which is quite often found in these wines in one form or another. On the tongue comes a lot of yellow fruit and somehow it seems almost a bit sweet. I assume the wine is fully fermented, but I didn’t find any sugar values to confirm this. There is just so much fruit and extract on the tongue, which is then followed by a kick of citrus at the back. This is different from the last Chardonnays from the Jura, which were rather fruitless and lived fully on the minerality and mouthfeel. Nevertheless, I like the wine already.

With more air, the scent of mirabelle liqueur recedes, now there is heavy cream ice cream and Amarena cherries. And indeed, this Chardonnay also becomes more mineral and structured. Not that I was missing that, but now that it’s happening, you might as well go with it. At the same time, the perceived impression of sweetness on the tongue continues to recede. Now Les Ammonites is pretty straightforward, with slight salinity, acidity pull and fine structure. The wine pulls on the tongue, demands the next sip, and the grapefruit lingers out back for a long time.

After a night, the evolution from the first evening comes together. A bit of mirabelle plum, fir honey, light oxidation, light lactic notes, herbs, minerality and structure. The full Jura Chardonnay experience. And on the tongue it pulls with plenty of focus and decent spice. This fits the summer, this has class and demands your focus, but can still be taken to its destination in big gulps. It just fully fits what I like right now.

Related Posts

• Bruyére-Houillon - Les Nouvelles 2016
• Domaine de la Borde - La Marcette 2018
• Domaine Labet - Chardonnay Lias 2018