It only took a few minutes of storm. A passing hailstorm, and there you have plums marked with small bruises on the skin—nothing that affects the flesh or taste, but enough for traditional channels to reject them outright. In large-scale retail, appearance decides everything, even when the fruit is perfect inside.
Result: over a ton of Tophit plums from Domaine du Monteiron, in Préverenges, are left without a buyer. We’re rescuing them and offering them to you, just like with every flash sale.
Perched on the Monteiron hill in Préverenges, this 30-hectare estate has been in the Gillard family for four generations. Arnaud took over on January 1, 2026, to keep the family heritage alive. Vines are at its heart, but the farm also cultivates a varied orchard of apples, pears, and stone fruits—including our Tophit plums—and produces its own cider and apple juice. Everything runs on biodynamic principles and has carried the Demeter label since 2012.
Biodynamics goes further than standard organic farming: the estate is designed as a living organism, where soil, plants, and lunar cycles work together. In practice, this means a work schedule aligned with the stars and natural preparations sprayed on crops to boost their defenses.
At Domaine du Monteiron This involves nettle teas, used alongside phytosanitary treatments. A practice passed down through generations, first developed for the vines to produce better grape juice, and now bringing depth to the entire estate, orchards included.
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Expect 2 to 3 days at room temperature, and up to 5 to 7 days in the refrigerator. The game-changer: don’t wipe off the whitish film covering the skin. This bloom naturally protects the fruit and slows aging. If they’re still firm when they arrive, let them ripen at room temperature before putting them in the fridge.
This year, hail fell several times in June, with some particularly severe episodes. Yet a hailstone doesn’t need to be big to leave a mark: on impact, the skin gets spotted or slightly dented, and this mark heals on its own while the plum continues to ripen peacefully on the tree.
These are Tophit plums, a late variety that ripens from mid-September, well after the Fellenberg, the most well-known variety in Switzerland. Less common, it stands out for its large size and beautiful elongated fruits with dark blue skin covered in its natural bloom. Taste-wise, Tophit is distinctive: low acidity, rather sweet, with sugary and fragrant flesh.
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