Domaine Overnoy-Crinquand

This domaine, situated in the center of the village of Pupillin, in the heart of the Arbois appellation, is three generations old. Mikael Crinquand tends the viticultural side of this multi-faceted family operation. The Overnoy-Crinquand families have always managed their holdings within Pupillin in a poly-cultural, organic fashion, tending seventy cows to produce milk for the famous Comté cheese of the region, harvesting grains and cereals and producing wine from the 5.5 hectares dedicated to vineyards.

The vineyards, situated entirely within the confines of Pupillin, are on rather severe slopes within the area known as “La Bidode”. All farming aspects are handled organically and that has been the case since the establishment of the domaine many decades ago. The vineyards are planted to a mix of the classic varieties of the Jura: two hectares of Ploussard, one hectare of Trousseau, one hectare of Savagnin and one and one-half hectares of Chardonnay. All harvesting is done by hand. The vinification and elevage of the wines is profoundly traditional giving the wines the pronounced and unique expression of the terroir of the Jura. Currently, 90% of the production is sold to private clients and we consider ourselves fortunate to have access to the limited amount of wine that is made available for export.

	Crémant du Jura Rosé: Crinquand uses fruit from the younger vines of Ploussard to make his sparkling wine. Although the vintage is not indicated on the label, Crinquand’s Crémant is vintage specific, all the juice being from a single harvest. The Crémant from this estate is bone-dry “brut zero” (no dosage). On the palate one senses a hint of tannin, a strong underlying earthiness … its “terroir” and an ebullient raspberry fruit in both flavor and on the nose. Certified Organic.
	Arbois-Pupillin Chardonnay La Bidode: The chardonnay at Overnoy-Crinquand is fermented in wood where the malolactic fermenatation also occurs; the “elevage” is in “demi-muid” (500 – 600 liter barrels); the wine spends a minimum of two years in barrel before being bottled; there is a virtually no SO2 used during the aging process; although the wine is not purposely aged “sous voile”, it is never topped up during its time before bottling and there is only a single racking during the “elevage”. The wine displays excellent, firm acidity, is rather full in the mouth, quite honeyed in its nose and flavor, fine with a persistent, mineral-dominated finish. Certified Organic.
	Arbois-Pupillin Chardonnay Vieilles Vignes: This cuvée of Chardonnay is harvested from 60-year old vines ; in this instance, « elevage » occurs in smaller barrels (« piece ») and is bottled after three years … a wine of remarkable concentration with classic notes of hazelnut and honey. Certified Organic.
	Arbois-Pupillin Savagnin: The best Savagnin is produced from poor soils underlain with “marne grise” and the Crinquand Savagnin is planted in a singular one hectare parcel of compact grey marl. Vinified in large, old oak barrels and left there to age about four years before bottling, Crinquand’s Savagnin is a profound wine marked by notes of beeswax, cacao and walnut with a penetrating, long, almost tannic finish. Certified Organic.
	Arbois-Pupillin Ploussard Pupillin: is recognized as the “home” of the Ploussard grape, the lime-clay soils of the vineyards, heavily laden with stones, surrounding the village providing the perfect setting to express the curious and compelling character of this grape variety. The light color of this wine reflects the grey-rose blush to the skin of the grape which then leads to a surprisingly tannic texture; a rough, “sauvage”, lively wine with a big personality. Drawn from the oldest Ploussard vines of the domaine. Certified Organic.
	Arbois-Pupillin Trousseau: The Trousseau from Pupillin is a touch less profound than the Trousseau produced by Puffeney and Gahier in the neighboring commune of Montigny-les-Arsures (noted as the “home” of Trousseau). Here, Crinquand’s version, vinified in barrel in similar manner to his Ploussard, is more fine and elegant than the other Trousseaux in our portfolio and is less rustic than Crinquand’s Ploussard. The Trousseau plantings are isolated in vineyards the composition of which is a classic mix of clay and limestone dominated by small pebbles and stones. Certified Organic.
	Vin Jaune: The “unicorn” of the Overnoy Crinquand cellar, this very limited wine is only produced in the best of vintages. Exceeding the mandatory 6-years-and-3-months aging period required to claim a wine as Vin Jaune, Overnoy ages their Savignin “sous voile” for 10 years before bottling. The result is a magical amalgamation of finesse and decay, a compact, carmelized and nutty fruit character advancing into a deeply briny and mineral firework show on the palate. This is not a Vin Jaune for the weak of heart. Production of this wine is tiny; only a few hundred bottles are produced. After almost a decade of visits, we were fortunate enough to be offered a few cases of the 2007 to import into the United States – 12 bottles, to be exact.

Download Overnoy-Crinquand tech sheet

Domaine Name	Domaine OVERNOY- CRINQUAND
Family/Owners Name	Famille Crinquand. GAEC de la bidode
How many years has the family owned the domaine? How many generations?	For 4 generations
How many hectares of vines are leased?	0
How many hectares of vines are owned?	5,5 ha
Are your vineyards or wines Organic or Biodynamic Certified? If yes, in the EU? In the US? If no, are you in the process of becoming certified? When?	Certified Organic since 1999 by ECOCERT
Describe your vineyard management practices (e.g. low-intervention, organic, biodynamic, standard, etc.).	Mechanical soil work with caterpillar and plow: scraping, digging … In spring, we use manure from our cows (we produce milk for processing into organic Comte cheese), on one part of our vines.
PLEASE ALSO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR REPLY:	Leaf-thinning only for reds
Do you do field work and harvest manually? By machine? By horse?	Harvest by hand
Do you typically sell or buy any grapes? Please specify.	No
Do you sell off any of your wine en vrac/allo sfuso?	Yes a little bit but only for private customers
WINE 1
GENERAL INFORMATION
Appellation	ARBOIS PUPILLIN
Cepage/Uvaggio	PLOUSSARD
%ABV	Alc 12,5% by vol
# of bottles produced	4000
Grams of Residual Sugar
VINEYARD AND GROWING INFORMATION
Vineyard/lieu dit name(s) and locations	La Rouge, la Bidode
Exposures and slope of vineyards	South-East, North. Slope 5%
Soil Types(s)	Red marl
Average vine age (per vineyard)	35 years
Average Vine Density (vines/HA)	6000 vines/ha
Approximate harvest date(s)	42993
PLEASE SHARE ANY NOTES ABOUT HARVEST/GROWING SEASON FOR THIS WINE IN THIS VINTAGE	2016: Humid and cold weather until late June.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO PREVIOUS VINTAGES?	Very dry and hot since early July. 2015: hot, 2014: mixed, 2013: humid
WINEMAKING/CELLAR INFORMATION
% whole cluster, % destemmed	Destemmed and crushed
Fermentation: vessel type and size	Foudre
Duration of cuvaison	15 days
Duration of contact with lees	Until the end of the malolactic fermentation
Select or indigenous yeast?	Indigenous yeasts
Please share notes about winemaking process for this wine. PLEASE ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING, IF APPLICABLE: pump-overs, punch-downs, racking, movement/transfer of wine done by gravity or pumping?), battonnage, malolactic fermentation allowed, chaptalization	Manual harvest, de-stemming, crushing. Alcoholic fermentation in foudre. We prefer punching-down but sometimes we practice pumping-over. After 15 days of alcoholic fermentation, devatting, pressing, and the wine is put back into the same foudre. In general, free-run juice and press juice are blended for a better balance. According to the year these two juices are separated. Unrefined racking 3 weeks after if necessary. Malolactic fermentation in foudre
Elevage: vessel type(s) and size(s)	Foudre
Duration of elevage	1 year
Duration of bottle ageing before release to US market	1 year
Do you practice fining and filtration? If yes, please describe	No fining. Soft plate filtration if necessary
Do you add sulfur? If so when and how much? How much sulfur remains in the wine at release?	Yes a little bit before the alcoholic fermentation: 3g /hl

Our initial shipment of wines from Mikael Crinquand included the 2010 Ploussard which, upon opening, revealed a heavily “reduced” nose. This phenomenon is the direct result of a regime wherein Crinquand uses almost no sulfur during the elevage nor at the time of bottling. Ploussard also is a grape that tends to evidence reduction in the bouquet. The wine became quite controversial and was criticized as “undrinkable” (among other pejoratives). It had (and has) been my experience that this particular wine benefited from a vigorous decanting and, when then left to “breathe”, the unpleasant aromatics of reduction were, if not entirely gone, at least less pronounced. Some found it too rude to imbibe; others enjoyed its rusticity. Clearly, the wine was not for everyone and those who did not like the wine certainly had justification for feeling so. That being said, we think it was worth making the experiment, particularly in these days when “natural” wines are very much in vogue. That is not to make an excuse for the wine; it is what it is … flawed, curious perhaps, undrinkable for many … but an honest attempt to minimize the use of sulfur. Perhaps the future will see a less problematic wine.

To download labels, click the label to expand, right click and save image as