Arbois Pupillin Savagnin 2014 is a natural wine crafted by Emmanuel Houillon-Overnoy at Maison Pierre Overnoy, in the village of Pupillin in the Jura region of France. This white wine is made with Savagnin grapes, the Jura's great white.
We are not selling this bottle
This page is here so you can read about the wine. We do not sell Houillon-Overnoy, out of principle. When we get hold of a few bottles we give them away rather than add to the speculation around them. Entry is free with any order. We are giving away 2 x Poulsard 2023 and 1 x Chardonnay 2020
Enter the Houillon-Overnoy raffle here
About Savagnin 2014 by Maison Pierre Overnoy
Savagnin is the grape behind Vin Jaune, and at this domaine it sits on blue marl, which Pierre says suits it very well, and sometimes on red. There is a running joke in it: growers in Pupillin have always called that soil blue marl, and geologists insist there is no such thing and that it is simply another grey.
This bottle carries yellow wax, which is how the domaine marks its Savagnin. Red wax is Ploussard, white wax is Chardonnay, and the vintage is on the shield at the neck.
Why a 2014 is only now being talked about
Because this cellar keeps its whites longer than almost anyone in the Jura. Emmanuel is direct about it: in white they do long élevage, on the Savagnin very, very long, and then a long time again in bottle. A Savagnin Ouillé from 2006 spent eight years in barrel. There are no fixed rules here and no schedule, Manu decides by tasting.
He is also honest about what that costs. Keeping wine that long means losing lots of wine to topping up the barrels after evaporation, so the small production gets smaller still before a single bottle is sold.
How it is made
No sulphur goes in, and neither does anything else, as has been true here since 1986. The estate runs to six and a half hectares, two of them Savagnin, and makes 20,000 to 25,000 bottles in a normal year across the whole range.
We tried this wine at a restaurant in Jura and loved its finesse, structure and energy. It was such a glorious moment we did not take any tasting notes but yes, it is awesome!
The full story of the domaine, and both of our films with Pierre and Manu, are on the Emmanuel Houillon Overnoy collection page.