2015 Domaine Bornard Savagnin Arbois Pupillin Vin Jaune

WINEMAKER: Tony Bornard
REGION: Jura, FR
VARIETY: Savagnin
VITICULTURE: Certified Biodynamic

This vintage is rich and rounded. We are under instructions from Tony Bornard to drink our one bottle with Gorgonzola. We don’t have a lot of information about the story of this particular wine but do note that as a general rule for making vin jaune Tony confirmed to us recently that he tops up the barrels initially until the wine has fermented all the sugars and is fully dry. He observed that it is too risky to let the flor develop while there is still sugar.

The ABV is a quite extraordinary 15.8% ABV. This wine does have a small addition of added sulphites.

Philippe Bornard lives in the village of Pupillin near Arbois and the Swiss border. His vineyards were inherited from his father, who previously sold only to co-ops. It was Pierre Overnoy, another Arbois winemaker, who eventually convinced Philippe to begin to make his own wine, and now, with over 27 years of experience under his belt, he is working with nearly 6 hectares of 30-year old vines, and farms exclusively biodynamically - officially certified in 2012. The grapes are grown at high altitudes, on limestone and clay soils, allowing a slow ripening. Typically the wine begins a long, slow maceration in fiberglass, and then is moved to large older oak barrels for maturation, which lasts about one year.

Big changes have occurred in the Bornard domaine over the past couple of years. Philippe has retired and his talented son Tony has taken over the operation with little fuss and with few observable differences for outsiders. Tony is a meticulous operator both in the vineyard and in the winery. He has a very clear vision about what he wants to achieve and how he is going to achieve it. The winery and many of the vineyards are in the quaint commune of Pupillin which is quite close to Arbois near the Swiss border. Tony is building a new winery in this village so that his father’s house will no longer be given over to the winemaking operations.