Henri Maire

History of Domaine Henri Maire

The story begins in 1632, when a certain Maire is recorded in Arbois as owning a vineyard and a cellar. For more than three centuries, generations succeeded one another and strengthened the house's expertise. The decisive turning point came in 1939, when Henri Maire, born in 1917, inherited two and a half hectares of vines and took over the family estate. He founded his commercial company in 1945, at a time when the Jura vineyard, despite the creation of the Fruitière vinicole d'Arbois and the award of France's first appellation d'origine contrôlée in 1936, was still struggling to recover from phylloxera and the wars.

A visionary in more ways than one, Henri Maire understood that he needed to go out and meet the public in order to make his wines known. He first toured fairs and trade shows, then from 1946 onwards recruited his first sales representatives and launched direct home delivery — more than seventy years before the model became widespread. In 1954, he built a new production site, the Chais de Biochailles, and considerably expanded the vineyard. His most celebrated creation remains Vin Fou, a sparkling wine with a Jura character launched in the 1950s, whose advertisements painted on walls across France made the Jura world-famous and whose traces can still be found in every corner of local life. Co-founder of the Fédération de la Vente Directe in 1966, he brought the vineyard to two hundred and seventy hectares by 1994. At his passing in 2003, his son and daughter continued the venture, before the Boisset family, neighbours from Burgundy, took over the entire operation in the mid-2010s to open the Henri Maire estates to the world while preserving an intact heritage. 

Terroirs and Vineyards of Domaine Henri Maire

The vineyard stretches from Arbois to Château-Chalon, covering approximately three hundred hectares, of which two hundred and fifty are under cultivation, organised into five estates with distinct personalities. All hold at minimum the Arbois appellation. Domaine du Sorbief also claims the Arbois-Pupillin, Château-Chalon and L'Étoile appellations, thus covering almost the full Jura palette. Domaine de Brégand is farmed organically. Completing the picture are Domaine de la Croix d'Argis, Domaine de Montfort and Domaine de la Grange Grillard, each bringing its own signature of soil and aspect.

The soils reflect the full geological diversity of the Jura: blue and grey Liassic marls, the natural home of savagnin; red Triassic marls that welcome the red varieties; scree and lighter limestone plateaux suited to chardonnay. All five regional grape varieties are represented: chardonnay, savagnin, pinot noir, poulsard and trousseau. Vineyard work is the subject of constant qualitative investment, with digging on every other row, soil turning designed to aerate land compacted by moisture, a ground cover of selected plants such as clover — which creates beneficial competition that helps regulate the vine's mineral and water intake and control both its vigour and its yield — and finally pruning adapted to each variety. One particular plot, Aux Ânes, located at the northern tip of the estate and to the north-west of the village of Arbois, has been identified as one of the finest trousseau terroirs on the property.

Winemaking at Domaine Henri Maire

The winery has benefited, as a continuation of the investments made in the vineyard, from a thorough modernisation aimed at supporting the move upmarket. The grapes are vinified plot by plot, with gentle pressing for the whites and measured extraction for the reds in order to preserve the natural finesse of poulsard and trousseau. The entry-level wines are blended from a selection of the finest plots, in a pursuit of harmony and consistency.

The house masters both great schools of Jura winemaking. The ouillé wines, known locally as naturés, have their barrels regularly topped up to preserve the brilliance of the fruit. The voile wines, known as typés, rest for several years in deliberately unfilled barrels, protected by a veil of yeast that imparts the characteristic aromas of walnut, curry and dried fruits. The vin jaune respects the statutory six years and three months before being bottled in its clavelin. The historic cellars of Arbois, cool and well-ventilated, provide ideal conditions for these slow maturations, while the Chais de Biochailles handles production of the largest volumes.

The cuvées of Domaine Henri Maire

Vin Fou remains the house's iconic bottle and one of the most celebrated wines in France. This sparkling wine made by the traditional method, available notably in a Brut and a Nature version, captivates with its fine bubbles, its freshness and its immediate appeal. A symbol of Henri Maire's commercial genius, it remains essential and can be enjoyed equally as an aperitif or with a light dessert. The Crémant du Jura rounds out the sparkling range with greater vinosity and a longer ageing on lees.

The range of whites forms the heart of production. The Côtes du Jura Chardonnay, drawn from a selection of the finest plots, exalts the freshness and purity of the variety, with notes of citrus and white fruits. The Chardonnay from Domaine de la Grange Grillard offers a broader, more textured expression. Domaine de la Croix d'Argis produces a structured and mineral Arbois blanc. The Savagnin Naturé from Domaine du Sorbief, aged in topped-up barrels, reveals the non-oxidative side of the Jura's flagship variety, with its saline tension and notes of candied citrus. By contrast, the Arbois Savagnin Sous Voile unfolds the classic palette of fresh walnut, almond and spice, in a more powerful and perfectly gastronomic register.

The reds showcase the three Jura grape varieties. The Arbois Trousseau, drawn notably from the Aux Ânes plot selected for its affinity with this demanding variety, offers a deep colour, aromas of dark fruits and spices, and a firm structure that calls for a few years of cellaring. The Poulsard, with its pale and translucent colour, plays on delicacy and the freshness of small red fruits. The Côtes du Jura Pinot Noir brings elegance and suppleness. Domaine de Montfort offers a more full-bodied Arbois rouge, while the Veuve Léon Maire Rouge Ponceau cuvée perpetuates a long-standing tradition of the house.

Several historic cuvées pay tribute to the heritage of Arbois. The Cuvée Pasteur celebrates Louis Pasteur, a native of Arbois and the father of wine microbiology, whose work on fermentation was carried out in the village's vineyards. The Cuvée Victor Hugo and the Cuvée de la Libération reflect Henri Maire's fondness for great figures and great dates, while the Cuvée Lumière takes a more contemporary and sun-drenched approach.

The Jura specialities crown the range. Vin Jaune, a pure savagnin aged for six years and three months under a veil of yeast before being bottled in a sixty-two-centilitre clavelin, stands as one of the world's greatest wines, with its golden-yellow colour, its nose of walnut, curry and dried fruits, and its seemingly endless finish. The house also offers vins jaunes from Château-Chalon and L'Étoile, exceedingly rare appellations, as well as vertical tastings of several vintages in its Arbois shop. The Vin de Paille La Vignière, made from grapes dried for several months on racks and then aged at length in barrel, concentrates dried apricot, quince, honey and candied fruits into a liqueur of remarkable freshness. The Macvin du Jura, a mistelle obtained by muting grape must with aged Jura marc, unfolds its aromas of candied fruits and spices as an aperitif or with dessert, and brings this unique collection — unlike any other in the Jura vineyard — to a close.