Meet Mother Holle
Jean Macle
(Chateau-Chalon)
Green meadows down there, fresh snow up here, increasing with each bend. The white layer stresses the structure of the ground as if to present the large variety of climates to the world. After one week of spring, winter now as if it had just missed the bus. Chateau-Chalon is placed on top of an impressive rock like an aerie in the landscape. Up there the village was deserted, noon, empty streets, no-one.
We discovered an excellent restaurant. After the meal, when we asked about Jean Macle - a vine dresser who has a very good reputation in this area - we were told his domain was just around the corner. They even offered us to phone him up and ask for an appointment spontaneously. We got it and walked over the recently laid snow cover. Not that snow is something special in this region, only this winter seemed to give drastic evidence of the climate change.
Madame Macle welcomed us to a degustation room dominated by a long stretched, mighty, massive wooden table. All of the wines we tasted showed splendour, brilliance in the colour and distinguished acidity. We liked the Macvin in particular - it's a fine appetiser made of two thirds of Savagnin and one third of Marc brandy. The Marc of the domain is very good, too. But we prefer pure wine, and the Savagnin here shows a bright energy that hardly can be beaten. The Vin Jaune is rare and rationed - we only could get two bottles, not more.
Bottle Samples:
Côtes du Jura 2004
Chardonnay and Savagnin. In the bottle for two months. Very young. Good apple-like acidity, peat and mineral notes, butter.
Chateau-Chalon 1999
Lemon-like, fine. Butter and walnut. Very good, delicious acidity. For a Vin Jaune rather slender, according to the vintage. Still a baby.
Chateau-Chalon 1991
The bottle had been opened in the morning and we tasted at three pm. Roasting aromas, fuller and definitely opened-up bouquet compared to the 99, containing walnut and yeast notes. Very good Vine Jaune at the beginning of its maturation.
|
||||
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
||||