Domaine des Marnes Blanches

Pauline and Géraud Fromont, both qualified oenologists, took over the estate in 2006. It sits in the Sud-Revermont, in the south of the Jura, with parcels spread across several villages: Cesancey, Vincelles and Sainte-Agnès.

They have been certified organic since 2013. They pick by hand and keep grass cover between the rows.

Chardonnay, savagnin, trousseau, poulsard and pinot noir are planted.

The house makes wine in both of the styles that divide the Jura, and the difference is worth understanding because it lies not in the grape but in one cellar gesture. If the barrel is topped up regularly — ouillé — no air gap ever forms and the wine comes out fresh and floral. If it is deliberately left un-topped, a film of yeast grows on the surface and the wine takes on the oxidative character that in its extreme form gives vin jaune.

The same savagnin, the same plot and the same year can give two wines with nothing in common. Whether the barrel is topped up decides it.