Winery Overview
While this alpine area of eastern France may be better known for skiing than viticulture, a cadre of Savoyard vignerons are producing excellent wines. The region’s best come from a boomerang-shaped string of hillside villages between Chambéry and Albertville (site of the 1992 Winter Olympics) called the Combe de Savoie at an altitude of 300 meters (984ft). Domaine Vullien is in the commune of Fréterive, 130km (80 miles) from Lyon, and about 80km (50 miles) from the highest mountain in the Alps, Mont Blanc (4,808 meters; 15,774ft). Son and grandson of Savoyard winegrowers, Jean Vullien created his own farm in 1973 with Jeannine, his wife. Their two sons, David and Olivier, joined them in 1998 and 1999. David and Olivier now manage the farm, tending to 40 hectares (98 acres) in the villages of Chignin, Montmélian, Arbin, St-Jean de la Porte, and their hometown of Fréterive. The grapevines grow in a calcareous soil made of scree, and the grapes are picked by hand. The domaine’s holdings include all the region’s indigenous grape varieties, as well as strategically placed parcels of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (David and Olivier both graduated from La Lycée Viticole in Beaune). The wines range from a crisp, lemon and mineral Jacquère-based white that British wine author Andrew Jefford would categorize as “Muscadet of the Alps” to complex floral and spiced reds made from Mondeuse. In recent years, David and Olivier have also earned a reputation for their excellent Méthode Traditionelle sparkling wines. Though the Vulliens have been making wine for 40 years, the family is perhaps best known as a leader in another segment of the wine industry. Since 1890, Vullien Pépinière Viticole (vine nursery) has been supplying young vines to growers throughout France. For over 4 generations, the family has acquired the skills to produce vine plants and rootstocks of the very highest quality. In fact, they were the source for about 25% of the Chardonnay planted in Chablis after the ravages of phylloxera. Today, their nursery takes care a wide range of varieties and clones including Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Aligoté, and Pinot Meunier.