Jean Bourdy Cotes du Jura Blanc, 2012

This is not your ordinary Chardonnay. As the back label states,"according to the tradition in our family, this wine ages slowly during four years in old barrels before bottling." As a result, it says, "This Chardonnay is better if you uncork it 3 or 4 hours before bottling."

It sounds like an oxymoron, and it is. If the wine has been exposed to air for so long in old barrels, why do you need to expose it to even more oxygen before drinking? In fact, aeration is precisely what long-in-barrel wines need. The same is true for Barolo. And the result can be spectacular.

Deep yellow color. When I first popped the cork, the wine did show some stinky, oxidized smells. Some might call them "pissy." But these smells were also exotic, mineral-tinged and beautiful. I did wait four hours after popping the cork, and by then the stinky smells had all disappeared; the exotic, mineral-tinged traits remained. Buttered biscuits, cinnamon, eucalyptus honey. Beautiful. Medium bodied with good acidity and a somewhat oily texture. Long finish.

This is not a budget wine but well worth $30 or even more if you can afford it.