The Breux Bridge, The Jura Hills by Emilie Gérard
In 2015, Emilie Gérard took over the Pont de Breux estate, located in the northern part of the Côtes du Jura appellation in the Salins-Les-Bains region. Having switched careers to the wine industry, she is committed to maintaining the quality of the wines previously produced by Jean-Charles MAIRE.
Jean-Charles Maire established the Domaine du Pont de Breux in 1991 on land previously farmed by his father-in-law, Gabriel Faivre. Gabriel was a dairy farmer in Comté and ran a small vineyard of ungrafted vines (Baccos), which Jean-Charles grubbed up in 1990 to plant Savagnin vines in their place.
Today, the Pont de Breux estate covers 4 hectares. It comprises five plots situated in the municipalities of Marnoz and Salins-les-Bains.
The Jura terroirs of Pont de Breux
The first vines were planted in 1983 at a place known as “En Chamoz”; the estate then expanded from 1992 onwards to include “Le Pont de Breux” and “Les Riantes”, before acquiring old vines over 50 years old at “Le Calice”. In addition to the land leased from Jean-Charles MAIRE, the estate was expanded with an additional plot in the hamlet known as “Les Carmargnes”.
The Breux Bridge
This locality in the commune of Marnoz comprises the main plot, covering an area of 2.30 hectares. This terroir is characterised by soil consisting of marl overlying Kimmeridgian strata (Mesozoic Era, Lower Jurassic ≈ 157.3 million years ago), a geological formation rarely found in the Jura but typically encountered in the Chablis region. This soil produces wines with lovely minerality.
This large plot is divided into three sections:
- The first vineyard, with a "West-North-West/East-South-East" aspect and a gentle slope. It is planted with Chardonnay and Poulsard grapes.
- The second vineyard, with a north-east/south-west aspect and a gentle slope, is planted with Poulsard, Chardonnay and Savagnin.
- The third vineyard, with an east-west aspect and a steep slope, is planted with Savagnin and Pinot Noir.
The Chalice
Two plots at Pont de Breux, measuring 20 and 30 ares respectively, are situated in this locality in the hills above the village of Marnoz. Here we find old vines, mainly Trousseau and a few Chardonnay vines, growing on soil more typical of the Jura. Sandstone, dolomite, variegated marl, gypsum, black and chocolate-coloured schistose clays from the Upper Rhaetian Keuper (Mesozoic Era, Upper Triassic ≈ 204 million years ago). The aspect is “North-West/South-East”.
The Chamoz
This locality is situated in the commune of Salins-les-Bains. Here too, the terroir is characterised by soil composed of Kimmeridgian marl. The estate comprises two 30-are plots located in ‘En Chamoz’. The north-east/south-west aspect is ideal. Chardonnay and Savagnin express themselves beautifully in this moderately sloping terroir.
The Carmargnes
A 50-are plot is situated in this locality within the commune of Marnoz. Here, Trousseau vines, some fifty years old, thrive on soil comprising both an Upper Triassic layer (Upper Rhaetian Keuper), as at “Calice”, and a layer of gryphe-bearing marl and marls and clayey limestones of the Lias (Hettangian-Sinemurian, Lower Jurassic ≈197 million years ago). The vineyard faces east to west and the slope is almost non-existent.
(Sources: Domaine du Pont de Breux)
A few photos of the Pont de Breux estate in the Jura
