Les Nouvelles 2018 | Philippe Chatillon | Arbois | Jura

Philippe Chatillon comes from a family of craftsmen: his father was a cooper and his grandfather a barrel maker. After working as a sommelier in gastronomic restaurants and teaching viticulture and oenology, he spent 18 years as régisseur at Domaine de la Pinte — one of Arbois's most historically important estates and a Jura pioneer of biodynamic farming — before founding his own domaine in January 2013, based in Poligny. His son Anatole joined in 2019 and has been taking on winemaking responsibility progressively from 2026.

The estate covers roughly 4 hectares across three appellations: parcels in Mesnay (Arbois) on grey marl at 500 metres with a southwest exposure; La Grande Chaude in Passenans (Côtes du Jura) on red Lias marls over a dolomite layer that makes them unusual in the denomination; and a tiny 0.20-hectare plot in Château-Chalon. Varieties are Savagnin, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Trousseau and the rare Melon à Queue Rouge, a Jura heritage variety with red-stemmed clusters. Viticulture is biodynamic across the entire estate, with Chatillon trained by Pierre Masson, one of France's foremost biodynamic teachers; the domaine holds four certifications: AB/Ecocert, Demeter, Biodyvin and Vin Méthode Nature. Winemaking follows the same logic: spontaneous fermentation, ageing in old barrels and amphora, zero added sulfur across every wine in the range, no fining, no filtration. Total production is under 8,000 bottles per year across 13 cuvées.

Les Nouvelles is the cadastral name of the Savagnin parcel in Mesnay — "new land," historically cleared ground — made in an ouillé (non-oxidative, topped-up) style. La Grande Chaude is a lieu-dit in Passenans whose name refers to its south-facing, maximally sun-exposed slope; Chatillon makes both a white from old-vine Chardonnay and a red from a co-planted field blend of Pinot Noir and Trousseau.