2007 Jacques Puffeney Savagnin Arbois

Matured for three years “under the veil” of flor – as is his norm for this bottling – Puffeney’s 2007 Arbois Savagnin delivers an especially smoky expression of flor that heightens the pungency and piquancy of toasted nuts, lemon rind, and fruit pits. Sleek in texture though with underlying leanness; its sappy peach and refreshing, sharp lemon tinged by alkalinity as well as mouthwatering salinity – not to forget the aforementioned smoky, oxidative and flor-related pungencies; this complex performance is vibrantly persistent and promises to remain riveting for at least a couple of decades. Jacques Puffeney of Montigny-les-Arsures is among the Jura’s most prestigious, engaging, and (thanks to the rotund amplitude of both his torso and white-bearded visage) easily recognized vignerons, and crafts wines no less distinctive – if much less massive – than their author. With the exceptions of Pinot Noir, vin jaune, and his few sweet wines – all of which are matured in older barriques – Puffeney relies on ancient foudres, of which I have not seen such a collection as his outside of Alsace or Chateauneuf-du-Pape; and he is favorably inclined to long elevage even for non-oxidative lots, which can themselves thus come off as if influenced by flor or other living denizens of the cask. Puffeney’s reds, too – often cited as among the region’s best – are bottled significantly later than the regional norm. He farms roughly 6 acres of Chardonnay, much of it melon a queue rouge; 5 acres of Savagnin; and 7.5 acres of reds, and says that his father – who actively selected and planted at a young age – is to thank for the 50-year average age of vine Puffeney fils now enjoys. Imported by Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990