Spectrum Fine Wine Auctions Home

The August 2022 Auction: Part 2

Auction # 723 | View Auction Schedule and Details
Back to auction lot listing Back to Auction Lot Listing
Auction Ends: 8/11/2022 6:00:00 PM PDT

Lot #458. Domaine Macle Chateau Chalon 2007

Description: Consists of 1 Clavelin, 0.62L
Score: 98 WA.
"The 2007 Château Chalon was bottled in two lots, as they have always done. They have four different cellars, some with more humidity and some warmer, so what Laurent Macle tries to do is to make an assemblage so the wines are as similar as possible; however, the bottles are impossible to differentiate as there is no indication of the lot on the label. Anyway, the nose is explosive and complex with strong aromas of morilles, green walnuts and perhaps a rancid touch; there are also spices, curry and cardamom. The palate is both sharp and has volume, is full with great acidity, makes you salivate and leaves a salty tasty on your lips. This is a fresh vintage with lots of acidity; it is a sharp wine that will age forever. The wine is very young, but already complex and with great depth. This is dead gorgeous. Laurent Macle was kind enough to uncork a 1976, which was a very different vintage -- a very warm one and it still feels young (with levels of complexity not comparable), so imagine how long the 2007 could age. These are wines that age forever. You just need to read the label: Vin de Garde. Patience will be rewarded. 4,000 bottles produced. I tasted the top Vin Jaunes together once I was back home, and this one clearly stood up as the wine of the vintage, a wine that should improve with time in bottle, but is so moreish it's almost impossible to resist today. At this price, it has to be among the cheapest great wines in the world. Jean Macle, the absolute superstar of the Vin Jaunes of Château Chalon, had never appeared here. It's not easy to get to them, but I had the fortune to meet Laurent Macle at a tasting of their wines in Santander in the north of Spain (at Bodegas Cigaleña, an absolute must for all wine geeks visiting the region), back in May 2013. It was a rare occasion, as it was the first ever tasting outside of their cellars! Yes, they had never done a tasting in Paris or anywhere else in the world -- a three star domaine had never shown their wines in public! But that's Jura for you. So I went up to the tiny picturesque village of Château Chalon to taste at the mythical Domaine Jean Macle. Laurent Macle, third generation bottling wines, works 11 hectares of vineyards in Château Chalon, seven of them Chardonnay and three Savagnin (yes, there is a small amount of red, usually for their own consumption). They produce a total of 40,000 bottles and only 5% is sold to professional customers and importers, and a whopping 95% is sold at the cellar door to private customers. So of course, I had to buy some... This is the summit of Vin Jaune, wines aged under a veil of yeasts that mature slowly in barrel and live (and improve) forever in bottle. Their 2007 Château Chalon is the wine of the vintage in Jura, as I could see in a comparative tasting of the best vin jaunes from that vintage, once I was home in Madrid. The stuff dreams are made of..." Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate #221, Oct 2015
Provenance: The Calabrais Cellar
Lot Location: Orange County
Estimate: $250

Image Gallery



- Indicates you are the winning bidder for a specific lot.
- Indicates you are the highest bidder for a specific lot.
- Indicates you have been outbid on a specific lot.
*Price includes BP if auction is closed
^Reserve not met