Labet

History of Domaine Labet

The story begins in 1974, when Alain and Josie Labet took over 9 hectares of vines in Rotalier, a small village fifteen kilometers south of Lons-le-Saunier. At a time when the entire Jura made wine under flor, Alain Labet made an almost heretical choice: observing that oxidative aging masked the nuances of terroir revealed by fermentation, he decided to top up his barrels regularly to prevent the yeast layer from forming. Along with a handful of other winemakers of his generation, including Pierre Overnoy, he thus paved the way for a generation of topped-up Jura wines, now celebrated far beyond the region. At the same time, he created the cuvée name Fleur de Marne to identify his old-vine Chardonnays planted on Lias marls.

Julien Labet, the eldest son, trained under his father before furthering his apprenticeship at Ramonet in Burgundy and at Hamilton Russell in South Africa. In 2003, he established his own operation on three hectares, farmed organically from the outset, while continuing the family’s parcel-by-parcel approach. In 2013, the two estates merged into a single operation run by the siblings: Julien oversees winemaking, Romain manages the vineyard, and Charline works alongside her brother in the cellar, particularly on the wines aged under flor. Ecocert organic certification confirmed practices adopted long before: Alain Labet had given up synthetic fertilizers and insecticides decades earlier. The estate now ranks among the Jura’s most sought-after producers, acclaimed by critics as an archetype of wines with a distinctive authorial vision.

Terroirs and Vineyards of Domaine Labet

The entire vineyard lies in the southern Revermont, whose geology differs markedly from that of Arbois. Set against the limestone cliff that borders the vineyards to the east, the slopes combine blue and black Lias marls, red or ocher decalcification clays, scree, siliceous chert and Bajocian and Bathonian limestone beds. This diversity, together with elevations ranging from 230 to 350 meters and varied exposures, accounts for the character of each parcel. The wines gain a pronounced acidity and mineral edge that define their signature. Alain Labet has mapped these micro-terroirs much like Burgundy’s climats, with each single-parcel cuvée bearing the name of the place it comes from.

The plantings comprise approximately 66% Chardonnay, 17% Savagnin (yellow, green and gros vert), 8% Poulsard and 6% Pinot Noir, with the remainder divided between Trousseau and Gamay. The tiny parcels range from 5 to 80 ares and are planted predominantly with old vines aged 50 to 100 years, propagated through massal selection; their genetic diversity naturally adds complexity to the wines. The soils are dug in spring, then earthed up and leveled, and lightly cultivated from May to July to control grass. Treatments are limited to sulfur, copper, whey and herbal infusions (nettle, horsetail and willow), supplemented by biodynamic preparations. Yields remain moderate, at 15 to 40 hectoliters per hectare for the oldest vines.

Winemaking at Domaine Labet

Winemaking is guided more by interpretation than intervention. All fermentations begin spontaneously and are driven by the native yeasts of each vineyard, an integral part of every cuvée’s aromatic identity. The wines age on fine lees in 228-liter Burgundy barrels that are 4 to 15 years old, with very little stirring and almost no racking. No fining, chaptalization or acidification: the only additive is sulfur, used in infinitesimal amounts, and most cuvées are bottled unfiltered in the spring, between March and June.

Three styles coexist in the cellar. For the topped-up whites, the heart of production, barrels are replenished every week to preserve freshness and let the terroir speak clearly. Wines aged under flor, by contrast, mature in old, untopped barrels, allowing the celebrated layer of yeast to form and bring the walnut, hazelnut, curry and spice aromas characteristic of Jura tradition. There are also whole-cluster maceration cuvées aged in barrels or amphorae, as well as sweet wines made from grapes dried on a bed of straw in a former hayloft, using a method passed down by the great-grandfather.

The cuvées of Domaine Labet

The blended Chardonnays are an introduction to the estate. The Fleur cuvée brings together vines planted between 1950 and 1985 on blue Lias marls (La Bardette, La Pèlerine, Le Clos, Le Monceau, En Billat and Le Crêt), aged separately before blending ahead of bottling: a floral, saline Chardonnay with immediate appeal. The Lias cuvée brings together parcels on marl in a chalky, focused style, while Bajocien, from shallower limestone soils, emphasizes tension and precision. Les Juvéniles comes from the estate’s youngest vines and offers a generous Chardonnay with notes of white fruit and acacia blossom.

Next come the single-parcel Chardonnays. Les Varrons, both in its classic version (vines from the 1940s) and its massal-selection version (vines from 1932 and 1940 on reddish-orange decalcification clay), yields a full-bodied, almost buttery wine of remarkable depth. En Billat, a tiny 14-are parcel planted in 1898 and 1940 on paper shale, produces an electric, smoky white. La Reine, on red clays and Bathonian silica, charms with its finesse and notes of candied citrus. En Chalasse, on marl dotted with geodes, combines roundness and salinity. Les Champs Rouges, planted with Chardonnay and red-stemmed Melon in 1967, offers a broad, sun-filled wine from a southwest-sloping plateau.

Les Fleurs de Marne is the historic range, reserved for Chardonnay vines more than 60 years old planted on Lias marls, always made in a topped-up style. Fleur de Marne La Bardette, from blue clay and marine fossils, stands out for its richness and long, iodine-tinged finish. Le Monceau, a sheltered, south-facing hollow, yields a dense, vibrant wine. En Chalasse, from deep blue marl, develops a silky texture and saline finish. La Beaumette, planted in the 1960s on deep blue clay, is the most austere and the best suited to aging.

Savagnin first finds expression in Fleur de Savagnin, a blend of yellow, green and gros vert Savagnin from parcels on Lias marls. Topped up during aging, it is taut, with notes of preserved lemon and fresh hazelnut. Fleur de Savagnin En Chalasse, from a south-facing, 50-are parcel, is its most concentrated and saline expression. La Bardette, a skin-macerated Savagnin, offers a textured, spicy orange wine, while the longer-aged versions gain depth and complexity. The macerated wines round out this family: Les Chaseaux, a Chardonnay macerated as whole clusters for 16 days and aged for 24 months, and Macération Sur Charrière, with a gentler extraction and a more floral character.

Among the reds, Pinot Noir Les Varrons comes in a clonal-selection version (1985 vines on chert and Bajocian limestone) and a massal-selection version (1984 vines on decalcification clay): two fine, spicy wines with distinctly Burgundian elegance. Poulsard En Billat, from vines planted in 1898 on paper shale, is one of the estate’s rarest and most delicate cuvées. Poulsard Sur Charrière, from deep, west-facing marl, emphasizes freshness and red berries, while Poulsard Le Pré du Bief is softer and more floral. Trousseau En Chalasse and Trousseau Le Pré du Bief show the variety’s structure and peppery dark fruit, while Les Chaseaux, made from trousseau à la dame planted in 2016, stands out for its cherry and pepper aromas. Gamay La Reine, made using carbonic maceration and then aged for nine months in barrel, surprises with its silky texture and depth. Finally, Métis blends equal parts Poulsard, Pinot Noir and Trousseau, aged separately and brought together just before bottling.

The wines aged under flor carry on the Jura tradition. Chardonnay de voile, aged in old barrels, develops hazelnut and curry notes over a lively backbone. La Cuvée de Garde blends Chardonnay with 20 to 30% Savagnin, aged under flor for 24 to 48 months, yielding a broad, savory style. La Cuvée du Hasard, a selection of the finest flor-aged Chardonnay from old vines, spends 36 to 48 months in barrel and is among the estate’s most coveted bottles. Savagnin de voile, aged for up to 72 months, precedes Vin Jaune, made from Savagnin aged under flor for at least 75 months and bottled in a clavelin.

The sweet wines made from dried grapes come in two cuvées. Passerillé d’Ambre, never topped up, adds rare notes of rancio, Madeira and spice to dried-fruit aromas of apricot, fig and prune. La P Perdue, topped up from the moment it is transferred to barrel, retains a fresher, fruitier aromatic profile for a sweet wine. Macvin du Jura combines two-thirds unfermented grape juice with one-third Marc du Jura distilled at the estate in an old pot still, then ages for at least 18 months in barrel. Serve it chilled as an aperitif or with a dark chocolate dessert. Marc du Jura, a pomace brandy with an alcohol content of at least 52%, rounds out the range. For sparkling wines, the white Crémant du Jura, extra-brut or brut nature, blends 80 to 100% Chardonnay with a touch of Pinot Noir, with a portion aged in old barrels for complexity. The rosé Crémant du Jura, predominantly Pinot Noir complemented by Poulsard, charms with its vinous character and crisp fruit.