Presentation
The Domaine de la Métairie d'Alon is a 25-hectare vineyard planted with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, located in a mountainous area around the village of Magrie, between Limoux and Roquetaillade, in the Haute Vallée de l'Aude. Managed organically on an exceptional terroir, it allows the Delaunay family to express in Languedoc the best of its Burgundian sensitivity and know-how in the production of great Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays.
The "Single Vineyards" are wines from our best plots that reflect the intrinsic character of their terroir.
Terroir
This wine is named after its plot, "Le Palajo", a terroir that can produce some of the finest Chardonnays in the Languedoc. It is the highest-altitude Chardonnay plot on the estate, located at 280m above sea level, on a plateau. The vineyard, managed organically and following Burgundian methods, is planted in a clay-sandy, slightly limestone soil, with a southern exposure. It is an ideal situation for producing a great Chardonnay, delicate, elegant, and profound.
Winemaking
The grapes are hand-picked into small 12 kg perforated crates. On arrival at the winery, whole-cluster pressing is carried out immediately in a small pneumatic press. The first and last pressings are discarded, keeping only the finest juice obtained under low pressure. The must then undergoes cold settling for 24 hours before being racked into French oak barrels (one to three years old), without any addition of sulphur. Fermentation takes place in Burgundy oak barrels, followed by eight months of ageing on fine lees. Each barrel is tasted individually during maturation to decide whether to allow malolactic fermentation to occur (which is the case for 30% of this cuvée). Two bâtonnages are carried out — one at the end of winter and another in spring — before bottling at the end of May.
Specifications
Tasting
The Chardonnay “Le Palajo” 2024 reveals a bright, crystalline robe with subtle green highlights. The nose, fine and expressive, opens with notes of orange blossom, light meringue and white-chocolate panna cotta, lifted by fresh nuances of yellow fruits and chlorophyll. On the palate, the tension is superb, carried by flavours of ripe lemon, yuzu and carambola, reminiscent of the great high-altitude Chardonnays. The texture is full and perfectly balanced, unfolding with grace into a remarkable length. The finish, both stony and saline, precisely underlines the mineral signature of the Palajo terroir and confirms the stature of a truly great Limoux Chardonnay.
Food pairings
Serve well chilled (8–10°C) alongside monkfish roasted in brown butter with yuzu zest, or a free-range chicken vol-au-vent with almond cream and morels. Its refined minerality also pairs beautifully with a risotto of green asparagus and white truffle, or a 36-month aged Comté.
Reviews
"Acacia blossom, angelica and nougat on the nose. A cluster of candied peel bringing in rich and intensely bitter chewy sweetness at the core of the wine, with oak spices and spice-spliced acidity rippling outwards, radial. Stunning folds and furrows of tension, spice, earth-dust minerality and cinnamon. This wine is a murmuration of energy, light and texture. One of the most serious Limoux Chardonnays I have ever tasted. People: Jeanne Delaunay (the very young winemaker in charge of these single-vineyard bottlings) is a name to make note of. (TC)"
Jancis Robinson
