La Grange 476
La Grange 476 is located half an hour outside of Arbois through the rolling green hills with grazing cows in next to the picturesque village of Menétru-le-Vignoble. Dimitri Vitois originally comes from Loire and has since 2009 worked in Sancerre, Burgundy and Limoux as well as studied viticulture in Beaune. But it was a meeting with Mark Angeli in 2015 that inspired him to establish his own domaine. Marion Valverde originally comes from Auvergne and previously worked as a nurse. In 2020 things took a sharp turn, however, when she took a course in cultivating the land using horses, which led the couple buying a horse named Solferino.
From the hills, La Grange 476 is overlooking Burgundy to the west, but although Burgundy is so close, Menétru-le-Vignoble is part of the Château-Chalon appellation in Jura. Vines with Poulsard, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Savagnin grow in the approximately four hectares of vineyards which have “probably the best terroir in the world” according to Dimitri & Marion. Here they work with an enormous conscience and sensitivity and of course plough the vineyards with the help of Solferino.
In the cellar, the couple work using minimal intervention, lots of patience, no fining or filtration and zero added sulphur. The wines are aged in 500 litre demi-muids or 228 litre barrels. In their own unique way, the wines express the magic that makes the terroir of Château-Chalon so special with grey marl covered with clay and pebbles. The location of the vineyards varies from east, west and south resulting in pure wines that are completely true to the terroir. This results in remarkably balanced and concentrated wines with minerality and salinity that burst with energy.
