Domaine
de Montbourgeau
Beneath the family home in L'Étoile, wines age for years under their veil of yeast. Four generations of the Gros and Deriaux family have cultivated the oxidative arts since 1920—transforming Savagnin and Chardonnay into liquid gold through patience, darkness, and time.
Generations of Transmission
Victor Gros founded the estate in 1920, planting the first vines in this tiny appellation of L'Étoile. His son Jean expanded the cellars in 1956, creating the winery as it exists today. Nicole Deriaux—Jean's daughter—joined in 1986, modernizing facilities and planting Savagnin to enable the domaine's first Vin Jaune.
Today, César Deriaux represents the fourth generation, working alongside his brother Baptiste and mother Nicole. Together they maintain the oxidative traditions while exploring ouillé styles—topped-up wines that express pure terroir without the signature veil.
The young generation tests new parcellary cuvées while preserving the traditional oxidative style. The wines are precise, straightforward, and with superb intensity.
— On continuity and innovation
The Star & The Soil
L'Étoile is named for the star-shaped crinoid fossils embedded in its grey and blue marl soils—ancient limestone rich in the marine life that once covered this region. The appellation spans just 52 hectares, making it one of France's smallest and most distinct.
Vineyards sit at 300 meters on slopes of grey marl rich in limestone and starfish fossils. This minerality creates wines of profound saline character and elegant structure—the distinctive signature of L'Étoile.
For over 15 years, the domaine has practiced organic farming—tillage alternating with cover crops, natural treatments, and biodiversity across their 30-hectare estate of vines, forest, and farmland.
Sous Voile & Ouillé
Two methods define the Jura: sous voile (under veil) and ouillé (topped-up). Nicole's generation established Montbourgeau's reputation through oxidative aging—wings maturing beneath a protective layer of yeast that imparts walnut, curry, and saline complexity. César now produces both styles.
Vin Jaune requires six years minimum aging sous voile in 228-liter barrels. The yeast veil—known as the "voile"—protects the wine while imparting its characteristic nutty, complex profile. No topping up. No intervention. Just time, darkness, and transformation.