Savagnin Ouillé, Arbois, 2020

A wine of great character and zest for life, this is unique and bursting with personality and authenticity. Wild floral and spicy on the nose, offering a broad plethora of flavours – from exotic fruit touches of quince and peach to shades of rosehip and ripe berry, seasoned with a twist of pepper and a touch of salt. A wonderful wine if you want to broaden your vinous horizons and a fantastic partner to spicy food. Savagnin is an extraordinary varietal which has the same DNA as the Traminer varietal. Because of its multi-faceted personality, there are many different ways to work with Savagnin. In Jura, the most common use of Savagnin is for oxidative wines under a veil of flor rather like in Jerez (sous voile), either as vin jaune (which requires 6.5 years in barrel sous voile), or simply Savagnin (2 to 5 years in barrel sous voile.) Savagnin ouillé, sometimes called Traminer, or Fleur de Savagnin, is the topped-up version, one that Domaine du Pélican has been producing since 2012. For the first time, in 2018, Pélican made this "skin contact cuvée", vinifying a small portion of their Savagnin grapes as if they were red, fermenting them with their skins. This gives the wine additional structure without losing its tension and vibrancy.