Domaine du Pélican

Domaine du Pélican is based in Montigny-lès-Arsures, near Arbois.

The domaine was established in 2012 by Guillaume d’Angerville, of Domaine Marquis d’Angerville in Volnay, and his longstanding Régisseur, François Duvivier. The wines are vinified, barrel-aged and bottle-aged at the estate. The holdings, as in Volnay, are close together, which is a blessing for biodynamic viticulture.

The vineyards are in two main areas. In the hamlet of Montigny-lès-Arsures are the holdings bought from Château de Chavanes and Jacques Puffeney. The En Barbi vineyard is here. The second holding is in Arbois, in the lieu-dit Grand Curoulet, home to the eponymous single vineyard wines. There are a few rows of vines, called Le Clos, by the Château de Chavanes, where the new winery stands. The vines are between 10 and 40 years old, apart from three hectares in Grand Curoulet that were replanted in 2015.

Guillaume d’Angerville decided to make wines in Jura after a blind tasting experience in 2007 at a restaurant in Paris. The wine in question was a Chardonnay from Stéphane Tissot that he mistook for a Meursault. There followed a search lasting several years, with the help of soil specialist Yves Herody, for the right vineyards.

The domaine’s first vines came from the Château de Chavanes estate. The vineyards of Jacques Puffeney were added in 2014. The Grand Curoulet plot was bought from Jean-Marc Brignot in 2012, but only came into production in the 2018 vintage. Grand Curoulet had been worked without pesticides by the former owner, a producer of natural wines. Having been neglected for several years, d’Angerville and Duvivier decided to replant it, using massal selection.

The pelican in the domaine’s name is a tribute to the symbol of the town of Arbois, which appears on the town’s crest. It commemorates a bird belonging to Marie de Bourgogne that, in the 15th century, did not survive a trip to the Jura. Fearful of potential repercussions for the perishing of this important lady’s pet, the town of Arbois adopted the pelican as its emblem. Although widely known, this legend had never been used by local winemakers, providing Guillaume and François with a fitting name for their new domaine.