History

• Jessica Litaud comes from a family of winegrowers in Vergisson, in the Mâconnais. Her father, Jean-Jacques Litaud, was also a winegrower.
• She holds a BTS (vocational degree) in wine and spirits sales from the Davayé wine school, then travelled for about five years through more than ten countries.
• She trained with two great names: Jean-Marie Guffens (Verget, Mâconnais) and Jean-François Ganevat (Jura).
• 2018: she returns to her native village, at the foot of the Roche de Solutré, and takes over part of the family vineyards.
• 2019: first wines under her own name. Within a few vintages, she has become one of the most sought-after winegrowers in the Mâconnais.

The estate in figures

• About 2.1 ha, deliberately limited so she can do everything herself, from vineyard to cellar. She works alone.
• Six plots of Chardonnay, on limestone soils, influenced by the Roche de Vergisson:
  • Mâcon-Vergisson "La Roche": 0.48 ha, 50-year-old vines
  • Saint-Véran "Les Pommards": 0.25 ha, 25-year-old vines
  • Pouilly-Fuissé: 0.18 ha, 36-year-old vines
  • Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru "Les Crays": 0.21 ha, century-old vines
  • Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru "La Maréchaude": 0.25 ha, 50-year-old vines
  • Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru "Sur La Roche": 0.71 ha, 50-year-old vines
• Tiny production, sold on allocation.

The cuvées

• Mâcon: Mâcon-Vergisson "La Roche", Mâcon-Solutré-Pouilly, Mâcon-Fuissé.
• Saint-Véran "Les Pommards".
• Pouilly-Fuissé: "Patchwork", "Andrea", "À François".
• Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru: "Sur La Roche", "La Maréchaude", "Les Crays", "Le Trio".
• Vins de France: "Cir’Rose" (a rosé from the last pressings of her plots) and "Rosé à Lies". She also made a one-off cuvée, "L’An Foiré" 2020.

The signature

• Chardonnays of great minerality and precision, balancing generosity and restraint.
• A purity of fruit that is often praised, and a saline, taut finish.

In the vineyard

• Organic farming (certification announced from the 2024 vintage), with partly biodynamic practices.
• No chemicals; weeding is done mechanically or by hoe.
• Guyot-Poussard pruning.
• Hand harvest into small crates of 7 to 15 kg.

In the cellar

• The grapes are chilled to about 4°C for at least 12 hours, then gently pressed, as in Champagne.
• Spontaneous fermentation in old oak barrels, with no new wood.
• Ageing of 10 to 11 months for most cuvées, up to 22 months for some Premiers Crus.
• No additives except a small dose of sulphur at bottling. The work follows the lunar calendar.