The Domaine de Montbourgeau is situated in the southwestern area of the Jura ,more precisely in the village of L’Etoile - meaning 'star'. depending on who you ask, the name comes from either the fact that five hills are surrounding the village make the shape of a star or, because of the many fossils of ancient starfish that you can find in the soils of this appellation. Either way, it is one of the smallest in the Jura with only 52 hectares.

The vineyard was planted in 1920, by Nicole Deriaux's grandfather, and has produced traditional Jura wines since. In 1956 Nicole’s father, Jean Gros, became the head of the family and taking his turn to develop the vineyard and the cellar. Then some thirty years later in 1986, it was finally time for Nicole to take part in the operation of the Domaine. Continuing the family tradition, she is now helped by her son Cesar. They Deriaux's are hard-working people, with their efforts reflected in bottle. The wines are precise, straightforward, and with superb intensity.

The ten hectares of vines are composed primarily of Chardonnay and Savagnin, as well as some reds with a small planting of Trousseau and Poulsard. The vineyard is organically farmed, and the vinification is very traditional, respecting the ancient practices of this region. Nicole Deriaux through her natural approach to viticulture and winemaking aims to retain and fully express the purity of l'Etoile terroir.

When harvest time comes, the grapes are pick by hands and then vinified in the cave underneath Deriaux's home. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks using strictly indigenous yeasts. Then all the wines are racked into a mix of old foudres, demi-muids and smaller barrels. The whites are matured in barrel; they are never racked; they are not topped off.

The small quantity of wines produced is then bottled, with no fining and a light filtration. The L'Etoile signature style, crafted by talented Nicole Deriaux, are wines of unique purity and elegance that we are proud to import.

"2012 Cuvee Speciale Chardonnay: One of those Jura producers that seems to get overlooked for the Instagrammable ones, and by virtue of that, leaves us, the righteous, opportunity to access the wines! Hurrah! Meanwhile, sustainable farming is the ticket here, as is 20 to 90 year old vines. It is chardonnay that matures for four years, on lees, under a yeast flor. And so fresh out of these bottles. Amazing." 96 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front.

 

"2014 L’Etoile Chardonnay: from an old school-good school producer out of Jura. Often unsung, but the proof is in bottle, definitively. Rocketing up my ‘interest’ rankings. Beautiful white wines." 94 points Mike Bennie, The Wine Front.

 

"2018 Poulsard: Organic producer that sits under the radar in Jura, but is firmly on mine now. It took me a while to get to these wines, but when I did they suddenly became very important in my Jura matrix... When poulsard is on, it is world beating. Here’s one.” 95 points Mike Bennie, The Wine Front.

White grapes: Chardonnay, Savagnin
Red grapes: Trousseau, Poulsard

​

​