Domaine Rijckaert: Chardonnay That Won’t Cost You a Fortune!

Domaine Rijckaert produce wines of exceptional quality from small plots of vines in the Jura and Burgundy. Florent Rouve, who took over from Jean Rijckaert in 2013 and runs the estate today, studied forestry and agricultural engineering before going on to study oenology in Dijon. His Burgundian wines are from 4 hectares of land in the Maconnais, and his Jura wines are situated on clay-limestone soils, marl, and stony slopes on 5 hectares in the Arbois. Florent mainly focuses on Chardonnay though he also makes a small number of wines from Savagnin, from Pinot Noir and Trousseau.

Biodiversity is fostered in the vineyards, where chemicals are never used. The soils are ploughed, while leaving a strip of glass for the tractors to drive along. Treatments are based on copper and sulphur only, along with plant-based fertilisers to help the chlorophyll to thrive in the vine and decrease the amounts of copper they use.The grapes are harvested by hand, and fermented with indigenous yeasts. The wines are aged in a combination of stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels. The Chardonnays display a beautiful balance of fruitiness and minerality, with flavours ranging from citrus and stone fruits to delicate floral notes. His use of oak is judicious and imparts a great depth.

Rijckaert's philosophy is terroir-driven. It’s for this reason that some might consider him a “natural winemaker." He would likely be more inclined to call himself a ‘defender of terroir’. His process has always been very much hands-off, allowing the wines to speak clearly for themselves. Adopting the same farming methods in Jura, the Rijckaert way allows the grape varieties and the soils in which they grow to speak for themselves.

“Vins Rijckaert has reached new heights under Rouve’s watchful eye. He’s preserved the savoir-faire and minimal-intervention approach that cemented its brand’s reputation—restricted yields, hand harvesting, slow and moderate pressings, indigenous yeasts and long oak aging without stirring or disruption.”

— Lauren Buzzeo, Wine Enthusiast Magazine