Berthet Bondet

Wines from Domaine Berthet-Bondet: buy at the best price

Located in the heart of the hilltop village of Château-Chalon, Domaine Berthet-Bondet is one of the absolute benchmarks of the Jura wine region. Founded in the mid-1980s by Jean and Chantal Berthet-Bondet, who breathed new life into a historic estate where no wine had been made for half a century, it is today run by their daughter Hélène, named Jura winemaker of the year by the Guide Hachette des Vins. Across some fifteen hectares certified in organic farming, the estate showcases the full range of Jura wines: veil-aged yellow wines, precise ouillé whites, gastronomy reds, crémants, macvin and straw wine. 

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Berthet Bondet Château Chalon 1996 62cl
3 in stock
131086
White
62cl
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Jura | Château Chalon

Berthet Bondet Château Chalon 1996 62cl

€180.00 inc-VAT per bottle
€150.00 ex-VAT
The TOP winemakers of Jura

History of Domaine Berthet-Bondet

The history of the estate is above all the story of a bold wager. For more than fifty years, the handsome winegrower's residence of Château-Chalon had not produced a single bottle. In 1984, Jean and Chantal Berthet-Bondet, both agronomical engineers, decided to take it over and revive its vineyard. They harvested their first vintage the following year and patiently built, plot by plot, one of the most respected estates in the appellation. Thirty years later, in 2015, they celebrated the estate's anniversary with a special cuvée, the Cuvée du Trentenaire, an assemblage of all the vintages of their Tradition between 1985 and 2012 — a living tribute to three decades of work.

The conversion to organic farming began in 2010, with the use of biodynamic preparations on certain plots. Their daughter Hélène, an oenologist by training following a career change, joined the estate and gradually became its principal winemaker. The handover took place without any break: parents and daughter work in parallel, with Hélène now making the day-to-day decisions in the cellar. Under her impetus, the range has been enriched with more ambitious cuvées, notably a pinot noir aged in barrel and an ouillé savagnin aged in acacia barrel. Recognised by several coups de cœur from the Guide Hachette des Vins and named Jura winemaker of the year in 2022, she has elevated the estate to the summit of the regional hierarchy, with her Château-Chalon regularly cited alongside the greatest names of the appellation.

Terroirs and Vines of Domaine Berthet-Bondet

The village of Château-Chalon, perched on a cliff overlooking vast green hillsides, offers one of the most beautiful panoramas in the Jura. The estate cultivates around fifteen hectares there, with approximately half under AOC Côtes du Jura and the other half under AOC Château-Chalon, an appellation exclusively reserved for vin jaune. The finest plots destined for the Château-Chalon are spread among the lieux-dits Gaillardon, in the commune of Domblans, Beaumont, in Ménétru-le-Vignoble, and Sous-Roche, in Château-Chalon itself.

The terroir is composed of grey and iridescent Triassic marls, mixed with limestone scree descended from the reculées. These deep, cool clay soils are the natural home of savagnin, the region's king grape variety, which accounts for nearly half of the vineyard plantings. Chardonnay occupies approximately forty per cent of the surface area, complemented by the three Jurassian red grape varieties: pinot noir, trousseau and poulsard. The average age of the vines is between thirty and forty years, with certain plots exceeding fifty. The farming is entirely organic, with grass cover on every other row and regular soil work — a choice that promotes microbial life and limits erosion on these marly slopes.

Vinifications of Domaine Berthet-Bondet

The estate practices two parallel schools, and therein lies its richness. For the wines under veil, the barrels are intentionally filled only three-quarters full: a veil of yeast forms naturally on the surface, protecting the wine from oxidation and conferring its unique aromas of dried fruits, nuts and spices. No topping up, no racking, no addition of sulphur whatsoever throughout the entire ageing process. The logic of the cellar is the inverse of that of a classic winery: dry, well-ventilated premises subject to strong temperature variations. The Château-Chalon spends six full years there, while the Côtes du Jura version spends approximately three years.

The ouillé wines follow the opposite path, with barrels regularly topped up to prevent any formation of veil, over an ageing period of approximately eighteen months that preserves the freshness and purity of the fruit. Fermentations are started with indigenous yeasts, with a pied de cuve prepared from a small quantity of spontaneously fermenting grapes serving as a safeguard to initiate the various vats. The reds are harvested by hand, sorted on a table, then briefly macerated — approximately one week — on whole destemmed berries, before ageing in oak barrels. This dual mastery, oxidative and non-oxidative, is the signature of the house.

The cuvées of Domaine Berthet-Bondet

The Côtes du Jura Tradition is the ideal entry point into the world of vins de voile. Composed of approximately eighty per cent chardonnay complemented by savagnin, it is aged for three years under veil, making it a kind of demi-vin jaune. The chardonnay rounds off the angular edges of the savagnin by bringing roundness and fruitiness, making it a true initiation wine for those discovering oxidative cuvées. It pairs wonderfully with aged comté, morel mushrooms or a chicken in cream sauce, but also goes very well with Indian or Asian cuisines flavoured with curry, ginger and turmeric. The Côtes du Jura Savagnin, one hundred per cent savagnin aged under veil, takes the exercise further with greater power, tension and that aromatic typicity of which the Château-Chalon area has the secret: a wine distinguished by the Guide Hachette des Vins.

The Château-Chalon represents the pinnacle of the estate and the ultimate expression of vin de voile. Sourced exclusively from savagnin planted on the finest plots of Gaillardon, Beaumont and Sous-Roche, it is aged for six years in barrel, without topping up or racking, strictly according to tradition. The nose reveals white fruits, citrus and spices, while the palate unfolds notes of walnut, hazelnut, tobacco, dried fruits, dried herbs and curry, supported by a lively acidity and a robust structure. The finish is endless. This wine of considerable power yet equal refinement requires two to three hours of decanting and can be kept for several decades, as evidenced by the older vintages still offered by the estate.

Among the ouillé whites, La Source is a straight and luminous chardonnay, built on white fruits and citrus, a perfect counterpoint to the oxidative cuvées and a limpid introduction to Jurassian whites without veil. La Poirière is a single-plot chardonnay cuvée sourced from thirty-year-old vines planted on iridescent Triassic marls and aged eighteen months in ouillé oak barrels: dense, mineral and long, it keeps for around ten years and pairs with fish and white meats. Le Savagnier explores savagnin in its ouillé version, revealing an entirely different grape variety — taut, saline and vibrant with citrus. L'Acacia, an ouillé savagnin aged in acacia barrel, brings a silky texture and very particular floral notes, the fruit of Hélène Berthet-Bondet's experiments.

The reds are no less impressive. Trio assembles the three red grape varieties of the Jura — pinot noir, trousseau and poulsard — to produce a light, transparent and eminently gastronomic wine, one of the most beautiful entry points into Jurassian reds. La Queue au Renard is a single-plot cuvée of pure pinot noir, born from forty-year-old vines on Triassic marls, harvested by hand, sorted on a table, briefly macerated on whole destemmed berries then aged fifteen months in oak barrels: an ambitious, structured and elegant red, to be served at fourteen degrees with charcuterie, red meats or grilled dishes, with a keeping potential of ten years.

The range is completed by several Jurassian specialities. The Crémant du Jura Brut Nature, produced primarily from chardonnay using the traditional method, wins over with its fine bubbles, delicate aromatics and uncompromising dryness: it is the estate's most widely distributed wine internationally. The Crémant du Jura Brut Rosé adds a fruity and indulgent touch. The Macvin du Jura, a mistelle obtained by muting grape must with aged marc, offers its aromas of candied fruits and spices both as an aperitif and with dessert. The Marc du Jura, distilled from the estate's own marcs and aged for a long time in barrel, carries on this tradition. Finally, the Vin de Paille, made from grapes dried for several months on racks before pressing and a very long ageing process, concentrates honey, dried apricot, quince and spices into a liqueur of remarkable freshness, to be savoured with foie gras or a dried fruit dessert.

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