CELLIER SAINT BENOIT

Jura, France

In 2018, Amélie Berthaut made a point to introduce us to her apprentice, Benjamin Benoit. This was her way of saying, “watch this one,” and given her predilections, it meant he was hardworking and passionate. We turned to Benjamin and said hello. He said hello, then looked at his shoes —Amélie also likes humility. Benjamin’s shyness contrasted with his physique. Tall, fit, and blond, his jawline was so remarkably superhero-like, it was difficult to take one’s eyes away from it.

Working for Amélie also meant that Benjamin was on occasional loan to Nicolas Faure, and prior to Berthaut-Faure, he had worked with Charles Lachaux. That is as good as references get in Burgundy these days, and to cap things off, Benjamin was from Pupillin. We were definitely not going to let this one out of our sight. We looked forward to tasting his first wines with the 2020 vintage. But in 2019, his father passed away unexpectedly. Benjamin cut his apprenticeship short and rushed home to take care of the family domaine and make his first vintage. He was 23 years old.

What does the catchall term of lutte raisonnée mean? For a young vigneron who has all the right intentions but who found himself so suddenly in charge of a domaine, it looks precisely like this:

Benjamin farms 5 of his 6.25 hectares without weed killers. The remainder is simply a question of time. For now, he can only afford one full-time employee and one seasonal worker. As far as treatments against disease go, Benjamin still allows himself the use of a chemical at flowering time. “We are in a humid place with lots of marl that retains humidity,’’ he points out. The Jura is already prone to frost and shatter, and the reality is that until he is established, he cannot afford to lose more crop to mildew. However, organic farming is his goal.

One hectare is treated by hand. The rest is treated with a chenillard, a lightweight track-type tractor. In order to avoid soil compaction, Benjamin’s goal is to use heavy tractors as minimally as possible —namely for plowing.

Plowing is limited to under the rows except in the steep Côte de Feule, where one out of two rows is plowed. Between the rows, Benjamin prefers natural grasses to cover crops. “Plants that grow naturally allow you to better assess the vineyards’ progress,” he says.

Because Benjamin started converting the pruning to Guyot Poussard in 2018, it is now pretty well established.

Hedging is mostly done by hand and very late in the season. Part of the Pinot Noir vineyards were left unhedged, with the canopy rolled into arches. Benjamin’s grandfather is in his eighties and doesn’t understand everything Benjamin does. The sight of unhedged vines is a particular eyesore for him. “Sometimes, he goes and trims them without asking me,” Benjamin laughs.

Massales are in the plans, as there are some great old vines, especially the old vine Chardonnay, a biotype you may have seen under the name Melon à Queue Rouge because of the red color of its stems.

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