2016 Domaine Bornard Savagnin Oeuf Mammouth Télécabine
WINEMAKER: Tony Bornard
REGION: Jura, FR
VARIETY: Savagnin
VITICULTURE: Certified Biodynamic
This was one of Philippe’s first experiments macerating Savagnin in alternative vessels. The earliest we know of was the cuvee Macération Pelliculaire in 2015, which was a 2-week maceration in stainless steel and a wine we had many years ago. This 2016 wine was part of a larger experiment involving three different types of vessels – an egg made from engineered stone (this cuvée), a buried Georgian Qvevri, and an Italian Amphora. We have this and the 2020 vintage from the Qvevri in this release, and released the 2016 vintage from the Italian amphora cuvée recently. This wine was macerated in the egg until the following April before pressing. We’re not sure when it was finally bottled but it has only just been released. The wine is aromatic, rounded and spicy with a distinctive orange colour, much more so than the amber tones of the Georgian wine.
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.