Planting Savagnin feels like a trendy, fun thing to do for a forward thinking producer. But, when you peel back the story behind why Henri Milan’s estate grows the grape native to Jura, it makes a whole lot of sense.

The Milan family famously makes a touch of (very good) white wine, mainly from Chardonnay and Grenache Blanc. But, after a geological survey of their estate, they found a portion of blue marl in the ground. This plot is akin to great Jura vineyards that produce exceptional Chardonnay and Savagnin.

With this intel, despite being in an area best known for Grenache and Mourvedre, they let their soil inform their newest plantings. So, they put down equal amounts of Chardonnay, Savagnin, Grenache Gris and Macabeu.

In 2022, after over a decade of regeneration and replanting, the vines were finally harvested for their newest wine. The fruit was directly pressed and fermented dry in concrete. It simply rested there until the following spring when it was bottled with a homeopathic amount of sulfur (3g/hl)

Domaine Henri Milan HARU Blanc

The unfined and unfiltered bottle is absolutely delicious. It combines unbridled Mediterranean flavors of lemon oil, sage, and green olives from Macabeu and Grenache Gris with the heady, salty sophistication of Savagnin and Chardonnay on limestone. A wine that's practically impossible to put down, it’s one of our favorite new wines in the store.