Why it matters
The producer
Jean Rijckaert began in the Mâconnais in 1990 as co-founder of the Verget négociant business in Sologny. Eight years later, his own estate began with four hectares around Viré-Clessé and five hectares in Arbois. The resulting labels move between Côtes du Jura, Arbois, Mâcon, Saint-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru, with Chardonnay as the thread running through both regions.
Florent Rouve now directs the vineyards and cellar work. The estate also buys selected grapes on the vine and takes them through harvest, fermentation and bottling itself, so purchased fruit enters the same regional cellar system as estate fruit.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
The Mâconnais and the Jura sit far apart on a label, but Maison Rijckaert treats them as two Chardonnay territories. A Pouilly-Fuissé or Viré-Clessé comes from southern Burgundy, where the ground is generally stonier, drier and more permeable. Côtes du Jura and Arbois come from the cooler, more humid Jura, where marlstone is more common.
Those conditions give the appellations different material to work with. The Burgundy wines can carry yellow apple, grilled lemon, herbs and oak-derived nougat, while the Jura examples bring mineral notes, green fruit and lively acidity. The regional cellars allow those differences to be handled near the grapes rather than after transport to one central winery.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The vineyards are farmed with biodiversity in mind and without chemical use as stated by the estate. Treatments rely on copper, sulphur and plant-based fertilisers, with the fertilisers intended to reduce copper use. The practical result is fruit grown under the same stated approach in both regions, before regional differences enter through site and season.
Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations happen spontaneously, and almost all of the wine is made in cask. Very little new wood is used because the casks are intended to give structure rather than an overt woody aroma. Wines stay on their lees without bâtonnage, then spend extended time ageing before bottling; the importer cites at least 18 months for the range. This leaves apple, citrus, floral and mineral notes present beneath the oak and lees texture.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range gives Chardonnay several regional settings. Côtes du Jura Chardonnay and Arbois En Paradis place the grape in Jura soils, while Viré-Clessé Rendez-Vous de Septembre, Saint-Véran, Mâcon and Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru Sur la Roche follow it through the Mâconnais. The appellation on the label is therefore useful information: it tells where the Chardonnay was grown, not merely where the wine was marketed.
Sur la Roche is the more site-defined Burgundy bottle in the supplied range: 100% Chardonnay from La Roche, fermented without added yeast and aged in mostly used oak on its lees. Côtes du Jura Chardonnay 2023 is also Chardonnay, with fresh yellow apple, pineapple, honey, grilled lemon, cardamom, nuts and vanilla. Arbois En Paradis Vieilles Vignes 2022 brings Chardonnay from its blue marlstone, sandstone and limestone into a fresher, mineral register with butter, flowers and apple.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Maison Rijckaert Côtes du Jura Chardonnay 2023. It is a direct Jura Chardonnay: high in freshness, marked by oak, and built around yellow apple, pineapple, honey, mineral notes, grilled lemon, cardamom, nuts and vanilla. The bottle shows the house method in practical terms—Chardonnay shaped by Jura conditions, cask ageing and lees contact—while leaving enough acidity to keep the fruit and oak moving through the finish.