‘De l'Avant Chardonnay’ 2022

Chardonnay, Orbagna

We are delighted to present the first vintage to Ontario from Canadian-born, young Jura phenom Katie Worobeck. Originally from Ontario and a long-time friend of GW, Katie developed an interest in wine and organic farming while studying, and moved to France upon landing a dream job with the legendary Anne and Jean-François Ganevat. After five years at Ganevat, Katie began looking after a parcel of old vines planted over clay and limestone in the Sud Revermont’s famed lieu-dit ‘Les Varrons’. Here she grows Chardonnay, along with a few rows of Gamay and old hybrids. She farms organically with a focus on soil health, including planting trees and shrubs amongst the vines and hopes to rotate livestock amongst the parcels to promote diversity. Her ‘de l’Avant’ chardonnary comes from 40-year-old vines in the ‘Les Varrons’ red clay and limestone vineyard. Pressed directly in an old vertical press and moved by gravity into a combination of small and larger oak for two years of ageing. From a warm, dry vintage, we get a dense, ripe yellow peach, flint struck in a cave, precision meets emotion, toasted, nutty spices that hint at a dollop of oxidation, a cumulous nimbus weighty fullness & lemon drop rain falling on your cheeks. A new reference point for this region we can’t stop thinking about, enjoy alongside something you don’t like yet but WANT to like –  like hypnosis, this wine has the power to rewire and help you become the YOU you’ve always wished to be. p.s. We recommend you continue watching out for Katie’s wines, this is surely the sign of a star on the rise.