ClassificationAOC Cotes du Jura, AOC Chateau-Chalon, AOC Cremant du Jura, AOC Macvin du Jura
VarietalsSavagnin, Chardonnay, Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir
OwnerClavelin family
NeighbourhoodLe Vernois

Why locals love it: The family shares its name with the bottle vin jaune goes into, which sends most of the attention elsewhere. The cellar itself is a working village address on the square at Le Vernois.

Tip: Open 8h30 to 12h and 13h30 to 17h Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings, closed Saturday afternoons and public holidays. Those are working hours, not visitor hours, so go early.

Location

Address: 27 Place de la Mairie, 39210 Le Vernois, France, Jura

More hidden gems in Jura

Fruitiere Vinicole de Voiteur ★ 4.4

Savagnin, Chardonnay, Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot NoirVoiteur

A growers' cellar set up at the end of the 1950s, pooling about sixty vignerons over 70 hectares and bottling Cotes du Jura, L'Etoile, Chateau-Chalon, Cremant and Macvin under one roof.

Why locals love it: Visitors drive up the hill to Chateau-Chalon for the view and miss the cellar at the bottom, which is where the appellation is actually sold over a counter seven days a week.

Tip: Open Monday to Saturday 9h to 12h and 14h to 18h from September to June, to 19h in July and August, and on Sundays and public holidays 10h to 12h and 14h to 18h. It is the one Sunday option in the Haute-Seille.

Domaine Ratte ★ 4.5

Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot NoirArbois AOC

Michel-Henri and Francoise Ratte farm organically and biodynamically at Arbois, across Chardonnay, Savagnin, which they also call Nature, Poulsard, Trousseau and Pinot Noir.

Why locals love it: An Arbois address on a residential street rather than on the Place de la Liberte, which is where the visitor traffic goes. Nine hectares across the five Jura grapes.

Tip: The estate is on the Coeur du Jura tourist office's grower list, so the office on the square can confirm whether the cellar is receiving before you walk over.

Domaine Credoz ★ 4.5

Savagnin, Chardonnay, Trousseau, Pinot NoirFounded 2002Chateau-Chalon AOC

Jean-Claude, Annie and Valentin Credoz work nine hectares from the cliff-top village, bottling Chateau-Chalon vin jaune alongside Cotes du Jura whites, Macvin and vin de paille. The vineyard is in organic conversion.

Why locals love it: Chateau-Chalon has four communes and very few growers, and the name that travels is not this one. The cellar is on a side street in the village itself rather than down in the valley.

Tip: Park below the village and walk up. The streets inside Chateau-Chalon are narrow and the view over the Seille from the belvedere is worth the climb whether or not the cellar is open.

Domaine Jean-Louis Tissot ★ 4.4

Poulsard, Trousseau, Chardonnay, Savagnin, Pinot NoirFounded 1965Montigny-les-Arsures

Founded in 1965 by Jean-Louis Tissot and Francoise Masson, now run by their children. Their ancestor Albert Piroutet was among the growers who set up the Fruitiere Vinicole d'Arbois in 1906.

Why locals love it: Three businesses in this village carry the Tissot name and the export trade knows the other two. This one works 16 hectares between Arbois and Montigny-les-Arsures and receives by appointment only.

Tip: Call 03 84 66 13 08 before you drive out. Vauxelles is a hamlet, not an address a satnav resolves cleanly, and there is no walk-in caveau.

Domaine Daniel Dugois ★ 4.5

Trousseau, Poulsard, Chardonnay, SavagninFounded 1973Arbois AOC

Philippe and Melanie Dugois run the domaine at Les Arsures, recently certified organic and part of the Juracines Club, a group of twelve Jura estates working organically.

Why locals love it: Les Arsures is a Trousseau village of a few hundred people off the Arbois to Salins road, and this estate keeps ordinary weekday hours rather than a tourist caveau.

Tip: Open Monday to Friday 10h to 12h and 14h to 18h, Saturdays by appointment only, closed Sundays and public holidays. A weekday morning here and an afternoon at Montigny is the Trousseau day.

Domaine Jean-Luc Mouillard ★ 4.3

Savagnin, Chardonnay, Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot NoirCotes du Jura AOC

A grower at Mantry working the full Jura range, Chateau-Chalon and vin de paille included, alongside Cremant and Macvin. The cellar sells direct and the domaine is farmed organically.

Why locals love it: Mantry sits off the vineyard road between Poligny and Lons-le-Saunier, so almost nobody passes it by accident, and the cellar takes visitors by arrangement rather than keeping caveau hours.

Tip: Open every day except Sunday, but by appointment, and the domaine asks you to phone 03 84 25 94 30 first. It is twenty minutes from Chateau-Chalon, so pair it with the Haute-Seille rather than with Arbois.

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