The 2023 Cellier Saint Benoît Arbois Pupillin La Marcette Chardonnay is a beautifully sculpted and intensely mineral Jura Chardonnay from one of the region’s most exciting young producers. Crafted by Benjamin Benoit in the village of Pupillin, the wine comes from Chardonnay vines planted in 1982 on Triassic marl soils at the top of the La Marcette slope, where cooler exposures and clay-rich soils give the wine remarkable tension and precision. Produced with a low-intervention philosophy inspired by both Jura tradition and Burgundian precision, the grapes are whole-cluster pressed, fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in older barrels to preserve purity and terroir transparency.
The nose reveals preserved lemon, ripe pear and yellow apple layered alongside crushed stone, almond and subtle buttery reduction, giving the wine remarkable aromatic lift and complexity. On the palate, it is light to medium-bodied with vibrant natural acidity, silky texture and a tightly wound saline mineral core. Layers of citrus oil, orchard fruit and delicate lees richness unfold with chalky tension and exceptional energy, finishing long, precise and beautifully persistent with outstanding freshness and finesse. Critics and merchants consistently highlight the wine’s luminous, mineral-driven style together with its balance of generosity and Jura tension.
Ben’s Recommendation:
The 2023 Cellier Saint Benoît La Marcette Chardonnay is a superb Jura Chardonnay — mineral, vibrant and beautifully refined with outstanding tension and terroir detail. Perfect with Comté, roast chicken, trout, scallops, mushroom dishes or refined alpine cuisine. Enjoy now with decanting or cellar comfortably through 2038+.
