Domaine du Pélican En Barbi Chardonnay 2016 Magnum

Grape: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2016
Type: White

This white comes from En Barbi, a south-facing Arbois parcel once farmed by Jacques Puffeney and now one of Domaine du Pélican's highest sites at nearly 390 meters. The soil is silty clay over gray marl so rich in limestone it reads almost white, giving sharp drainage and steady acidity even in a warm year. Guillaume d'Angerville, who runs Domaine Marquis d'Angerville in Volnay, built Pélican to bring that same Burgundian precision to Jura chardonnay. The site does the work; the cellar mostly stays out of the way.

It displays a pale gold color, opening with aromas of orchard fruit, lime zest, and wet limestone. On the palate, the medium-bodied frame is chiseled and tightly woven, balancing ripe stone fruit against a mineral spine that never lets the fruit spread out. A persistent salinity runs underneath, the site's limestone showing through directly. Acidity stays high and keeps the structure vertical rather than round. It finishes long and saline, the stone carrying well past the fruit.