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ARBOIS SAVAGNIN VIGNES DE SORBIEF 2023

Grandes Parcelles

click on one of the vintages below for further information
2022   2023  
Several generations have been necessary to patiently built one of the largest and greatest estates in the area, focused on key appellations such as Château-Chalon, l’Étoile and Arbois. The Domaine MAIRE & Fils covers nowadays 234 hectares of vines producing all the area grapes varieties.

Typical of the Jura region, the Savagnin is a demanding and patient grape, very often associated with oxidative ageing under a film of yeast known as the “voile”, or veil. But its less well-known mineral facet has to be discovered: in fact, in topped-up barrels, it displays mineral notes of lemon and white flowers.

With its beautiful light gold colour and green highlights, this Savagnin surprises with its mineral, floral and fruity notes (white fruits and exotic notes). On the palate, the combination of a unique terroir and ageing in oak barrels gives us a powerful, complex wine that offers a fine balance between lemony, mineral notes, aromas of white flowers and substance for a long, pleasant finish.

Serve with starters, shellfish, seafood, smoked salmon or fine fish, roast poultry and, of course, local cheeses such as Comté, Morbier, Bleu de Gex or Swiss Gruyère.
12 to 14°C (53-57°F).
5 to 6 years.
The Jura wine region is small in size but large in its remarkable diversity. It covers 80 kilometres between Burgundy and Switzerland, in the eastern France.

The Arbois AOC is the oldest and largest of the Jura's four geographic AOCs. In particular, it was France's first AOC (created in 1937).  

Its name originates in the Celtic words "ar" and "bois" that would mean "fertile land".
The “Sorbief” parcel is locally known as one of the best terroirs in Arbois. It is at least the treasure of the estate’s vineyards where the Savagnin grape variety has been cultivated for generations. 

Particularly adapted to this late and demanding grape variety, the plot called “La Barodotte” is located in the west of the Domaine and to the southwest of the Arbois village on a lovely hill overlooking the famous “Route des vins du Jura” (the Jura wine road) RN 83:

- Surface: 1,5 Ha.
- Full South exposure.
- Average age of vines :  38 years (1987).
- Triassic marls sols.

The work in the vines, is based on the respect of the nature and the soil. We practice soil reassembly to aerate the lands subjected to settlement due to moisture, and grass with plants. Such as clover, which, by competing on the vine, can modulate its mineral and water supply and control its vigour and yield.

The Guyot double size is necessary to better control the vine performance.
Reception of the grapes, harvested manually, sorting and vatting by gravity into a thermo-regulated tank for the fermentation. Once the grapes are pressed, the musts are settling under control temperature. Then the wine is placed into oak barrels (with 30% of new oak) for the fermentation and a 9 months ageing period on fine lees, to expand its aromatic palette. It is a "naturé" Savagnin, a term used when aging wines while protecting them from contact with air, by filling them up as the level drops due to natural evaporation. Bottling with a light filtration.
The 2023 harvest started on 28 August in our large vineyard, and was well anticipated, particularly for the Crémants, with around ten days' cutting, which enabled us to retain good acidity and ultimately produce a magnificent harvest.

The best-quality plots this year were the white varieties: Chardonnay and Savagnin.

The red wines are still on a tightrope and the choice of harvest date was once again decisive, but once again, everything was well anticipated to produce some fine cuvées!

There'll be no frost in 2023, and we'd love to see this level of harvest every year, with volumes well above the ten-year average, reminiscent of the 2018 vintage, the benchmark for volumes in the Jura.
WINE SPECTATOR - 90pts - August 2025