France · Arbois

Domaine Maire et Fils

Domaine Maire et Fils is an Arbois domaine rooted in 1632, managing 349 hectares across Jura appellations and showing Savagnin, Trousseau, Poulsard, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in fresh, parcel-defined and long-aged wines.

The producer

Based in Arbois, Domaine Maire et Fils traces its roots to 1632 and manages 349 hectares across the Jura, with 218 hectares currently in production. Boisset owns the domaine, and Jacques Hauller is identified as estate manager. Savagnin, Trousseau, Poulsard, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir appear across the Grand Minéral, Grandes Parcelles and Héritage collections, giving the estate a range that moves from fresh whites to named-parcel reds and Vin Jaune.

Grand Minéral Côtes du Jura Savagnin grows on grey marl and uses a cellar regimen weighted toward stainless steel, with a smaller sous-voile component. It shows airy white flowers, freshness, roundness and an iodized finish. Grandes Parcelles Trousseau Vignes aux Ânes combines 25% oak ageing with 75% stainless steel, while Vin Jaune spends at least 6 years and 3 months under voile before bottling in a 62-centilitre clavelin.

Known for

A broad Jura range that moves from fresh, mineral Savagnin to parcel-based Trousseau and Vin Jaune aged for at least 6 years and 3 months under voile.

Notable facts

The story

Why Vin Jaune Comes in a 62-Centilitre Bottle

Vin Jaune at Domaine Maire et Fils spends at least 6 years and 3 months in oak under voile, a film of yeast that remains over the wine during its long maturation. Natural evaporation gradually reduces the volume, leaving 62 centilitres from the original litre of Savagnin. That remaining wine is bottled in a clavelin, the 62-centilitre bottle specially designed for Vin Jaune. The deep golden colour develops during the extended oak ageing, while cooked apple, curry, saffron and walnut rise from the glass. The finished Arbois wine leaves the cellar in the small clavelin, carrying the record of its long wait under voile.

From the atlas

Domaine Maire et Fils

At A Glance

Domaine Maire et Fils is an Arbois domaine in France's Jura, founded in 1632 and managing 349 hectares across Jura appellations, with 218 hectares currently in production. Its vineyards include Savagnin, Trousseau, Poulsard, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The range moves from fresh Savagnin in Grand Minéral, through parcel-defined wines in Grandes Parcelles, to the long-aged Vin Jaune of Arbois.

The Producer

The domaine began in 1632 and is based in Arbois, a Jura town whose name also appears on wines such as Arbois Trousseau and Vin Jaune Arbois. Boisset owns the estate, while Jacques Hauller is identified as estate manager. The scale is considerable for Jura, so the collection names help separate the kinds of wine being made.

Grand Minéral presents Savagnin in a fresh, mineral style. Grandes Parcelles puts named vineyard expressions such as Trousseau Vignes aux Ânes and Vin Jaune Arbois at the centre. Héritage completes the estate's collection. Across the range, grape, place and cellar method remain visible on the label and in the glass.

Place

Jura is the regional home, while Arbois, Château-Chalon, L'Étoile and Côtes du Jura identify appellations within the estate's holdings. The label therefore changes the expectation before the cork is pulled. Côtes du Jura Savagnin can present the grape in a fresh, floral and mineral register. Vin Jaune Arbois names a wine shaped by prolonged maturation under a film of yeast in oak.

Savagnin sits at the centre of that contrast. Its Jura reputation includes oxidative wines, yet Grand Minéral places a fresher expression first. The appellation and cellar method work together, giving the same grape two markedly different paths from vineyard to bottle.

Soil And Site

The Côtes du Jura Savagnin grows on grey marl, where Savagnin ripens slowly. That site supports a wine with airy white flowers, freshness, richness and roundness, followed by a floral, iodized palate.

Trousseau Vignes aux Ânes comes from a 4.96-hectare parcel with 31-year-old vines on clay and marl. The parcel name narrows the wine's address and pairs with a mixed ageing regime that keeps spice and ripe fruit at the forefront.

Story

Domaine Maire's story starts in 1632, but its public shape changed in the postwar decades. Henri Maire became a larger-than-life figure during Jura's renewed recognition in the 1950s, helping carry the region from marginal status into a more visible wine culture.

Later, Boisset's ownership brought a revitalisation strategy built around the estate's collections and plot-defined wines. Jacques Hauller is now identified as estate manager. The modern range carries that movement in three directions: fresh Savagnin, named parcels and the long wait required for Vin Jaune.

Vineyards And Cellar

Grand Minéral Côtes du Jura Savagnin uses a 70 percent stainless steel and 30 percent sous-voile ageing split. Stainless steel preserves the wine's fresh fruit and floral lift, while the smaller portion under a yeast film adds savoury depth without turning the whole wine oxidative.

Vignes aux Ânes Trousseau takes the opposite red-wine route in proportion: 25 percent ages in oak and 75 percent in stainless steel tanks. The combination supports spice, ripe fruit and a balanced palate while keeping the wine suitable for early drinking. Vin Jaune receives the longest cellar treatment, at least 6 years and 3 months in oak under voile, with natural evaporation and regular follow-up.

Wines

Grand Minéral Côtes du Jura Savagnin is a white Savagnin built around freshness. Its profile includes airy white flowers, richness, roundness, floral character and an iodized finish. The collection deliberately moves away from the oxidative style often associated with Savagnin and puts the grape's mineral side first.

Grandes Parcelles Arbois Trousseau Vignes aux Ânes is a cherry-red wine from a named parcel. Spice and ripe fruit lead the palate, with a balanced shape typical of Trousseau. It is suited to early drinking for its freshness and fruit, while its 6 to 8 year keeping window gives the bottle more time in hand.

Vin Jaune Arbois is a golden Savagnin whose colour deepens during long oak maturation. Its range of aromas includes cooked apple, curry, saffron and walnut. The bottle belongs to the most patient end of the collection, where evaporation and years under voile become part of the wine's character.

L'Étoile Chardonnay is a white wine with a clear, brilliant colour and green to pale gold reflections. Stainless steel ageing for 2 to 3 months supports a mineral nose, a frank attack and flavours of mineral notes and dried fruit. Poulsard and Pinot Noir also appear among the estate's named grape varieties, although the available material gives no comparable bottle detail for them.

In The Glass

Fresh Savagnin opens with white flowers, then broadens across the palate into richness and roundness before acidity brings the wine back toward a floral, iodized finish. Grey marl and slow ripening sit behind that combination, while the stainless steel and sous-voile split keeps the wine fresh without stripping away savoury depth.

Trousseau begins with spice and ripe red fruit. Its palate stays balanced and supple, with stainless steel preserving the fruit and a smaller oak portion adding shape. Vin Jaune moves into deeper tones: cooked apple, curry, saffron and walnut rise from the glass, followed by a lively, powerful attack carrying green apple, dried fruit and fresh walnut through the finish. L'Étoile Chardonnay takes a lighter path, opening on mineral notes and ending with dried fruit after its frank attack.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Grand Minéral Côtes du Jura Savagnin. It is a white Côtes du Jura wine from Savagnin grown on grey marl, with a cellar regimen weighted toward stainless steel and a smaller sous-voile component. White flowers appear first, followed by richness and roundness, then a floral, iodized finish. The bottle presents Savagnin before the more oxidative Vin Jaune style, so the grape's fresh mineral register arrives clearly and directly.

Anecdote

After at least 6 years and 3 months in oak under a film of yeast, Vin Jaune has lost volume through natural evaporation. The wine began as a litre of Savagnin, but the long maturation leaves 62 centilitres. That remaining wine goes into a clavelin, the squat bottle made for Vin Jaune. The same wait in barrel brings the deep golden colour and the aromas of cooked apple, curry, saffron and walnut, while the bottle records the lost volume in its unusual format. At the end of the process, the Arbois wine leaves the cellar in a 62-centilitre clavelin.

Final Word

Domaine Maire et Fils gives Jura several distinct shapes without losing the link between grape, place and cellar work. Grey marl Savagnin can be fresh and iodized, Trousseau can hold spice and ripe fruit through a mostly stainless steel élevage, and Vin Jaune can spend more than six years under voile before entering its small clavelin. The range rewards attention to the label because each name signals a different path through the estate.

Sources

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