Wedged between the lieux-dits of La Rouge and Les Charots, the red, chalky/clay soils of Les Chambines produced Benjamin’s lightest-coloured and most delicate Ploussard. At 0.6 hectares, Les Chambines is also Benjamin’s largest lieu-dit for this variety.  The steep slope, planted in the mid-1980s, reaches 40 degrees in some places, meaning this vineyard must be ploughed by horse. Facing more to the west, the wine is bottled at around 10.5 to 11% of potential alcohol in most years. The fruit was manually destemmed, and the wine underwent spontaneous fermentation and maturation in a steel vat. Les Chambines takes us to the more gossamer side of Ploussard—all lacy red currants and pomegranate fruit shot through with dainty spice and a glade of refreshing acidity.

Located south of Pupillin, La Rouge sits between the lieux-dits of Les Charots and Chambines on a gentle slope at 345 meters elevation. Benjamin’s 0.14-hectare parcel, planted in 1970, grows on classic Triassic red marl soils rich in iron oxides—hence the name.

As with Les Chambines, this wine was vinified without oak: the grapes were manually destemmed, followed by spontaneous fermentation and aging in stainless steel. The 2023 vintage was bottled unfined and unfiltered after eight months in tank. The influence of its marl soils adds a gentle savoury edge and mineral nuance.

Lying under the hilltop village of Pupillin in the north of the appellation, Viandrisis home to this grower’s oldest Ploussard vines, which are now pushing 70 years old. Benjamin also farms Chardonnay near the top, where there is more Bajocian limestone. The Ploussard vines are rooted in deep grey marl from the middle Liassic period on a 20-30% gradient that Benjamin quips is steep by Burgundian standards yet quite mellow for the Jura! The natural springs running underneath the site result in humid soils, which, combined with the old vines and low yields, bring a density to this wine’s flesh and tannins. Bottled from a single 600-litre barrel, for Benjamin, this wine always has the greatest mouthfeel along with a distinctive ferrous charm to the fruit.

Côte de Feule is Pupillin’s most renowned vineyard, the village’s de facto grand cru. It lies in the heart of the appellation on a south-facing slope at 390 metres. The site was once a stone quarry, and Benjamin farms just 0.4 hectares of old-vine Ploussard rooted in steep, iris-coloured Triassic soils littered with limestone gravel. From vines planted in 1961, this is the cellar’s most inviting and approachable example of this fascinating grape variety. All of Benjamin’s Ploussards are crafted using mostly hand-destemmed grapes—Benoit uses only 5% of the ripest stems—with this cuvée fermented spontaneously in a large tronconique wooden cask, then aged for 12 months in tank.

Benjamin Benoit farms just half a hectare of Pinot Noir but given that he trained with the likes of Charles Lachaux in Burgundy, we shouldn’t rule out that he will plant more. Regardless, this wine proves how successful Jura Pinot Noir can be when planted in the right soils and farmed accordingly. It’s from vines in the curving Courbes Raies vineyard on calcaire à gryphées—limestone-rich soil heavy in fossils. Benoit also farms Chardonnay on this site’s north- and south-facing slopes. The Pinot lies on the west-exposed slopes. The vines were planted by Benjamin’s father (mid-1980s) and grandfather (around 1959). Like the Trousseau wines, the Pinot ferments as whole bunches in large Grenier tronconique, while the aging takes place in 228-litre Burgundy barrels and larger, 600-litre demi-muid. Benjamin explains that this wine often confounds local tasters perhaps less familiar with a classy, polished Burgundian style of Pinot Noir. 

The lieu-dit Fonteneille lies at the heart of the Arbois Pupillin AOC, on the plateau above the Côte de Feule. Situated between 390 and 400 metres in altitude, the vines are planted in a north–south orientation on soils of silt and clay over limestone with gryphées. Planted in 2008, these are currently the youngest vines on the estate, yet they are already producing fruit of excellent quality. Trousseau’s riper stems and more compact bunches, compared to Ploussard, allow Benjamin to ferment this cuvée entirely as whole bunches.

The wine was aged for 12 months in used 228-litre and 600-litre oak barrels, then bottled without filtration. Due to the low yields in 2022, the Fonteneille vineyard was bottled together with the Côte de Feule under the Gryphées label.

Côte de Feule is Pupillin’s most renowned vineyard, the village’s de facto grand cru. It lies in the heart of the appellation on a south-facing slope at 390 metres. The site was once a stone quarry, and Benjamin farms just 0.4 hectares of old-vine Ploussard rooted in steep, iris-coloured Triassic soils littered with limestone gravel. Alongside his Ploussard vines, Benjamin farms a 0.10-hectare parcel of Trousseau. Trousseau’s riper stems and more compact bunches than Ploussard allow Benjamin to ferment this entirely as whole bunches. This was raised in used 228-litre oak barrels for 12 months and bottled without filtration. 

The Chardonnay from the same vineyard is just outstanding. The vines are a touch younger—planted in 1990—and deliver a striking wine of intensity, texture and tension. Where the impact of the richer clays influences Benjamin’s wines from La Marcette and Viandris, the Courbes Raies vines sit on a band of Triassic limestone littered with fossils of ancient gryphée molluscs. There is also more sand in the clay here.

To emphasise the different terroirs of each parcel, the winemaking for all the Chardonnays remains very similar.  All the grapes are pressed as whole bunches into used 600-litre barrels for fermentation and 12 months of lees-aging. Benjamin then decants off the gross lees, and the wine rests on clean lees in stainless steel for a further six months, allowing him to bottle the wines without filtration. Expect a layered, ripe, fleshy expression leading to a mouthwatering, saline close. It’s satiny yet fine-boned Jura Chardonnay that underlines Benjamin’s goal of clarity and precision.

Nestled between La Marcette and Champ-Berrand, Les Charots in one of Pupillin’s smaller lieu-dits. It sits on a very steep slope under La Marcette on orange-tinted soils rich in iron. There’s a lot of yellow Bajocian limestone, too, which Benjamin finds gives this wine a more chiselled personality and citrusy, mineral edge. From 30-year-old vines, this was first made in 2021.  

Benjamin farms half a hectare in La Marcette, which sits at 335 metres in the south of Pupillin as you move towards Poligny. The soil here is Triassic marl (chalky clay), and the 65–70-year-old vines (planted by Benjamin’s grandfather) sit on the plateau of a hill, right above Les Charots and opposite the village. Despite the proximity, the wines could hardly be less alike; the sunny Marcette parcels ripen considerably earlier and deliver aromatic golden berries compared to the typically more focused, chiselled Les Charots. This is a deep and powerful Jura Chardonnay, with preserved citrus, orchard fruit, quince, camomile and salty notes. Pair it with rich poultry and pork dishes or a thickly sliced tranche of well-aged Comté. 

Bottled from a single cask, this grower makes a specific style of Vin Jaune, principally from Savagnin vines in Les Chambines. Three factors help understand the style being produced here. Firstly, Benjamin selects his wine for the Vin Jaune by the barrel, looking for the least expressive, most tightly wound wines, as he believes that this leaves more room for the complex chemistry of sous voile aging to play its role. Also, unlike many in the region who age their wine in the humid, underground cellars, the Benoit family has figured out that their best wines come from barrels stored in their winery’s custom-designed grenier or attic. Finally, Benjamin Benoit also bottles his wine after nine years instead of the mandatory six. He finds those extra three years bring more salinity and umami to the glass. Rather than an excessively powerful and unctuous Vin Jeune, this is supremely detailed and light-footed, more like a Château-Chalon style, offering aromas and flavours of pear, hazelnut skin, green walnuts, hints of undergrowth and loads of spice. There are some light tannins and a mouthwatering saline and intensely spicy finish.