Domaine du Pélican
JURA, FRANCE
In 2007, Guillaume d’Angervile of Volnay’s Domaine Marquis d’Angerville was lunching with his wife at Restaurant Taillevent in Paris. As was their ritual, they asked the sommelier to bring them a white wine—not from Burgundy—to taste blind. D’Angerville was floored by the quality and profound minerality in the white and assumed the sommelier had made a gaffe and brought a bottle from the couple’s home region. It was a Chardonnay made by Stéphane Tissot in Arbois in the Jura.
Until that moment, d’Angerville had given little thought to the bucolic, pre-Alpine region known for its sherry-like vin jaune. Suddenly, he found himself consulting with his geologist and searching for vineyard land for sale. Out of these machinations, Domaine du Pélican was born. D’Angerville and his estate manager, François Duvivier, welcomed their first Jurassien harvest in 2012 from 24 acres farmed under biodynamic regimen. In 2014, after Jacques Puffeney announced his retirement, they took over the celebrated vigneron’s plots as well.
It would be easy to claim that these outsiders were trying to make Burgundian wine out of their newfound Jura terroir. But although there continues to be a learning curve in dealing with native grape varieties like Savagnin, Poulsard and Trousseau, d’Angerville, Duvivier and their team have been fastidious in tasting with and learning from the local winemakers. The results so far have been extraordinary—the perfect combination of Burgundian attention to detail and Jurassien soul.
The Wines
Arbois Savagnin Ouillé
variety: savagnin soil type: blue & grey marl
This Savagnin comes off of two sites, Au Barby and Grand Curoulet, both well suited to the variety due to their rich marl and “terre de gryphées” (flecked with marine fossils) soils. It ferments in 500-liter barrels and ages in neutral 350-liter barrels for 10 months before bottling.
Arbois Trois Cépages
variety: pinot noir, poulsard, trousseau soil type: blue & grey marl
This blend is comprised of the three traditional red Jura varieties (65% pinot noir, 30% trousseau, 5% poulsard), all 100% destemmed. It ferments in vat and undergoes a one-week maceration before being racked into neutral 228-liter barrels. There, it ages for 10 months before bottling.
