Several generations have been necessary to patiently built one of the largest and greatest estates in the area, focused on key appellations such as Château-Chalon, l’Étoile and Arbois. The Domaine MAIRE & Fils covers nowadays 218 hectares of vines producing all the area grapes varieties.
The « Grand Minéral » Collection
Convinced of the unique Jura terroir’s potential, we have identified in the last years specific plots where Chardonnay and Savagnin vines were re-planted. Besides the traditional Jura appellations, we particularly concentrate ourselves in making wines of great freshness, with an airy, elegant and very mineral character.
The Jura wine region is small in size but large in its remarkable diversity. It covers 80 kilometres between Burgundy and Switzerland, in the eastern France. Created in 1937, the AOC (designation of origin) of Cotes du Jura is omnipresent in the north and south of the vineyard, on varied and contrasting terroirs. It is the second leading AOC in Jura in terms of production, and it engages all five of the Jura's grape varieties.
The whole range of wines of the Jura is represented, although the whites dominate - still or sparkling - with wines that are round, fruity, and generous.
The Chardonnay grape variety, originating from Burgundy but cultivated in the Jura since the 10th Century, has become a native of the region.
Its great adaptability makes it the most prominent grape variety today, especially on limestone and light soils.
In order to develop a harmonious cuvée, our Côtes du Jura comes from a selection of our best plots. The Chardonnay grow on clay limestone soils.
The work in the vines, is based on the respect of the nature and the soil. For young vines, located on steep slopes, to avoid erosion, we cultivate a row out of two, practice soil reassembly to aerate the lands subjected to settlement due to moisture, and grass with plants. Such as clover, which, by competing on the vine, can modulate its mineral and water supply and control its vigor and yield. The Guyot double size is necessary for the Chardonnay to better control its performance. The restructuring of the vines contributes to the harmony of our cuvée: the young vines bring the exuberance, the freshness and the acidity. While the older specimens bring the structure and character.
2 to 3 years.
There are vintages that make a mark on a whole region, and the 2018 will no doubt be one of these. Harvesting began on 20 August with the Crémants. They lasted for a month and the weather was perfect and quality exceptional. The grapes were in perfect health and had reached optimum ripeness.
The end of the winter was very cold with intense episodes of frost, which prolonged the dormancy of the vines. Bud-burst was later than usual but there were no spring frosts. The spring was very hot, with rain and frequent storms. There was even some hail, but fortunately, the estate’s vines were spared.
Summer was hot and dry, as it was across France, even on the vine-growing plateaus of the Jura, which are usually cooler.
Conditions were perfect for sunny harvesting. Apart from the Savagnin varietal, which is more sensitive, and suffered a little from the intense heat, the harvest was abundant and very high in quality.
