Terre de Gryphées

Terre de Gryphées is the entry-level Chardonnay of Domaine de la Tournelle - 100% Chardonnay from two parcels on the grey Liassic marl, marnes grises layer carrying the fossil oyster Gryphaea that gives the cuvée its name. Vines around twenty to thirty years old at the time. Hand-harvested at 35-40 hl/ha, whole-cluster pneumatic press, indigenous yeasts, no SO2. Alcoholic fermentation begins in tank and finishes in 228-litre pièces or demi-muid, no new oak. Aged sous bois, ouillé on fine lees for a minimum of twenty-four months. Bottling per the Maria Thun lunar calendar. 12.5% ABV. 2002 in the Jura was a generally well-regarded year, the cooler counterpoint to the 2003 heatwave that followed.