Chardonnay
Le Vernois 2020
Lewakowski

Grape Variety: Chardonnay

Producer: Paul Lewakowski

Region: Maynal, Jura, France

Wild Scale: 1/5

Vegan friendly wine

13% alcohol

Winemaking: Organic Chardonnay grapes from 50 year old vines grown on blue marl soils were harvested by hand. Direct press before fermentation with indigenous yeast. Aged in barrel for 3 years before bottling with no filtration, fining or added sulphur. 

This Wine: Natural white wine with a medium to full body. Jura Chardonnay made in the topped up (ouillé) style, so not oxidative. More acid driven than the rounder En Marigna but still a wine a complex and powerful wine. Expect to taste the influence of oak alongside ripe citrus and minerals. 

Notes on the Winemaker: Originally from Michigan, Paul Lewakowski is an American vigneron and rising star in the Jura region of eastern France. After honing his craft under prestige producers across Burgundy and Alsaca, including stints with Dominique Lafon, David Croix, and Zind-Humbrecht, as well as a pivotal stage at Domaine Labet, he settled in the Jura in 2019. Working primarily out of the Sud-Revermont (around Maynal and Rotalier), Lewakowski crafts ultra-pure, low-intervention natural wines from low-yielding old vines. Focusing on biodynamic farming, long barrel aging (ouillé style for whites), and indigenous yeast without added sulphites or filtration, his small-allocation cuvées of Chardonnay, Savagnin, and Poulsard are celebrated for their electric energy, deep salinity, and precision, earning him a cult following among natural wine purists.