Tasting notes from a once in a lifetime type of dinner, featuring the wines of Overnoy with a little bit of Jean-Marc Brignot sprinkled on top.
We started with a lovely bottle of 2011 Cedric Bouchard La Haute-Lemblé (unfortunately, I didn’t take any notes) and then paired the Overnoy flights by grape variety. Although it didn’t start out that well with the Chardonnays, the Savagnin and Poulsard flight more than made up for the corked bottles.
We finished with two bottles of Jean-Marc Brignot elusive wines.
Hard to pick a WOTN, for me it was a close call between 2000 Overnoy Savagnin, 2004 Brignot Echarde, and 2010 Overnoy Poulsard that I all loved for different reasons.
OVERNOY & BRIGNOT DINNER - San Francisco (8/5/2023)
Chardonnay
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2007 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Chardonnay Arbois Pupillin - France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin
This wine started really lovely with lots of fruit, lemon, apple, and mineral notes on the nose. The palate is quite powerful and complex with a nice mouthfeel and more lemon and mineral notes. Unfortunately, when we went back to this wine a few hours later, the TCA emerged and was impossible to get past. However, the initial experience was very enjoyable and no one at the table called out the TCA at first (but everyone agreed it was corked at the end of the night...) (NR/flawed) -
2010 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Chardonnay Arbois Pupillin - France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin
This was badly corked, what a bummer. (NR/flawed)
Savagnin
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2000 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Savagnin Arbois Pupillin - France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin
Interesting and complex nose with notes of lemon, almonds, herbs, lime zest, and a bit of honey. Super high acidity on the palate with more lemon and lime flavors, lots of minerals and crushed rocks, and a nice richness to round it out. The palate felt a bit fresher and slightly less oxidative than the nose. Very very long finish. This was absolutely incredible! The wine felt a bit more old school Jura compared to the other Savagnins and it's probably drinking at peak right now. Wow! (97 points) -
2005 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Savagnin Arbois Pupillin - France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin
Really pretty nose with bright flavors of lemon and rocks and some richer fruit undertone. Perfectly balanced on the palate with lovely acidity and complex flavors of more lemon, orange rind, minerals, a slight honey note, and hay. Long finish. Fantastic wine that gained weight and density with air but always felt light and lifted. Amazing experience! (96 points) -
2007 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Savagnin Arbois Pupillin - France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin
Absolutely gorgeous nose with fragrant notes of herbs, lemon, minerals, and tons of depth. Nice acidity on the palate with more lemon and mineral flavors and good weight. Long finish. The nose was to die for, although the palate was a small step behind for me. It did improve significantly with air in the glass, so this wine just may need a bit more time. 95+ (95 points)
Poulsard
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2008 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Poulsard Arbois Pupillin - France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin
Pretty, but quite reserved nose with subtle notes of red berries and blood orange that became a bit more expressive with air. Nice acidity and surprising amount of structure on the palate, along with flavors of red cherries and strawberries. Nice finish. Really lovely wine that probably needs more time and was showing quite backwards and was hard to read for the majority of the night. Interestingly, most people seemed to like this quite a bit more than I did. 94+ (94 points) -
2009 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Poulsard Arbois Pupillin - France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin
Fragrant and expressive nose with floral notes, wild strawberries, and cherries. Good acidity on the palate with slightly riper fruit notes, more strawberries, blood orange, and just a hint of candied fruit. Long finish. I really enjoyed this wine and felt that it was drinking beautifully right now, although not as showy as the 2010 next to it. (95 points) -
2010 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Poulsard Arbois Pupillin - France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin
Wow, mind blowing nose with a complex array of roses, strawberries, violets, cherries, and a bit of VA. Nicely balanced with great acidity and lots of red fruit, alpine strawberries, citrus zest, and a slight forest note on the palate. Long finish. This was absolutely on fire and drinking perfectly right now! Clearly had the nose of the night and I initially scored it higher, but I felt that it didn't improve with air and showed best right out of the bottle. Incredibly good, though! (96 points)
Jean-Marc Brignot
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NV Jean-Marc Brignot Jour de Fête - France, Vin de Table Français
Didn't know what to expect, no lot code or any other information on the label, but I gathered that this is probably Savagnin from 2005. This wine has clearly seen some sous voile aging and the nose was quite complex with oxidative notes, almonds, lemon rind, and a bruised apple note that emerged with air. Good acidity and quite lovely flavors on the palate with more almonds, lemon, and hazelnut notes. Nice finish. Very interesting and lovely wine that went very well with a variety of food. (93 points) -
2004 Jean-Marc Brignot Trésor d'Aiglepierre Echarde - France, Vin de France
This is basically Vin Jaune, but made from Chardonnay. There is so much going on the nose with insane intensity and complex flavors of almonds, lemon, honey, orange, and hay. The palate is quite fresh with nice acidity and tons of flavors, including more lemon, almonds, marzipan, nuts, and orange zest. Very long finish. What a wine! This was just as emotional as the last time I had it, for some reason this wine clearly speaks to me... (98 points)
