Owner
Jean Vullien
Winemaker
Jean Vullien and his two sons, David and Olivier
Appellation
Savoie
Distribution Area
Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania
Varieties
Altesse, Chardonnay, Gamay, Jacquere, Mondeuse, Pinot Noir, Roussanne
Vineyard
69 acres total planted on the hillsides of the Combe de Savoie to the following varieties: Jacquère: 4.94 acres in the cru Montmélian – labeled Vin de Savoie Montmélian, Roussette aka Altesse: 6.18 acres in various parcels – labeled Roussette de Savoie, Chardonnay: 9.88 acres – labeled Vin de Savoie Chardonnay (best parcels for Cuvée Prestige), Roussanne aka Bergeron: 15 acres in the cru Chignin – labeled Chignin-Bergeron, Gamay: 8.15 acres – labeled Vin de Savoie Gamay, Pinot Noir: 8.9 acres – labeled Vin de Savoie Pinot Noir (best parcels for Cuvée Jeannine), and Mondeuse: 16 acres including parcels in the crus St-Jean-de-la-Porte and Arbin. All parcels sustainably farmed (lutte raisonnée). Dark Jurassic limestone soils and black marl base with pebbly topsoil layer of scree (degraded limestone fragments that have accumulated over time from Massif des Bauges slopes above).
Farming
Sustainable
About Domaine Jean Vullien
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.
2 Commerce Dr. Suite 3 Moorestown, NJ 08057
Office 800.245.0184
Fax 856.985.5848
