Cuvée put in Reserve in our cellar.
At the time of bottling, a few bottles are set aside in our cellar, in order to compensate for climatic incidents.
They are a good substitute for frost / hail insurance, and thus show the good development and the aging capacity of our wines.
A Cuvée R, can therefore be an Arbois Blanc (Chardonnay or Savagnin) or Arbois Rouge (Trousseau or Ploussard).
The main label cuvée R indicates that this bottle has aged in our cellar, in bottle, the back label indicates the content of the bottle.
Reserved for professionals.
An ouillé (topped, ie. not-oxidative) version of Savagnin that’s all about mineral finesse.
Grapes: Savagnin
Vineyard: grey marl soils. 30+ years old vines. Estate-owned, certified organic.
Yields: 35–40 hl/ha
Making of: Grapes are hand harvested in small baskets. The grapes undergo a careful selection at the vines and are then whole-bunch pressed in gentle pneumatic press. After a short debourbage (settling), the wine starts to ferment (native yeast only) in tanks, then is transferred to neutral barrels (no new wood). The malolactic fermentation happens the following spring, with topping off every 10 days without sulfites for a minimum of 18 months. Bottled according to the Maria Thun biodynamic calendar.
Personality: stunning precision and minerality, wine to be enjoyed the whole evening as it shows more and more of its layers of flavor. Good with Asian dishes or (mildly)spicy foods.
Evelyne and Pascal Clairet created their domaine in 1991 and later opened a little bistro in their garden by the water in the center of the town of Arbois, open in the summer. Continuing after her husband’s passing away (2021), Evelyne works with 8 hectares of vines planted of mostly white grapes (the locally typical Savagnin and Chardonnay) and some reds (Trousseau and Ploussard).
Tournelle makes traditional wines in the traditions of Arbois, such as the Terre de Gryphées or Vin Jaune, while also exploring new paths, such as the use of carbonic maceration in the Uva Arbosiana red. Their methodology and passion are clearly invested in producing wines that represent the tradition and potential that this dynamic AOC possesses.
