2021 Domaine Bornard Pinot Noir L'Aide Mémoire
WINEMAKER: Tony Bornard
REGION: Jura, FR
VARIETY: Pinot Noir
VITICULTURE: Certified Biodynamic
2021 was a vintage decimated before it began by severe frost. As a result Tony Bornard decided to only make one Pinot Noir cuvee. This is an assembly of what would normally have been three different wines - Aide-Mémoire, Petit Feule and Le Pinot Noir (one of the cuvees made with Tony's label). We expect this may be the case into the future with this cuvée. The parcels where it come from include many variants of Pinot Noir, some of which are no longer cultivated and some with forgotten names. To quote (translated) Tony, "it allows us to keep in memory the work of our fathers" (i.e. an aide-memoire).
From three lieu-dits, Bessard, Feule et Sous les Lettres, all the vines are within Arbois Pupillin but the wine is designated Vin de France. If you have visited Pupillin you will easily be able to identify “Sous les Lettres”. It is the plot under the Pupillin sign which Tony bought some years ago and from where his Le Pinot has come in the past. Within these parcels there is grey, black, blue and green marl and also Triassic sandstone. The expositions are northerly, southerly and westerly.
The grapes were destemmed in the vineyard then macerated for one month in a stainless steel tank with several pump overs but no punching down. After pressing it was aged in 400 litre barrels for about 9 months and then bottled in such a way to keep some gas from the fermentation without gas and with no additions of sulphites. It was then aged in bottle until its recent release. Its complex spices will reveal themselves Tony recommends keeping this wine for up to 10 years. 11.8% ABV..
Philippe Bornard lives in the village of Pupillin near Arbois and the Swiss border. His vineyards were inherited from his father, who previously sold only to co-ops. It was Pierre Overnoy, another Arbois winemaker, who eventually convinced Philippe to begin to make his own wine, and now, with over 27 years of experience under his belt, he is working with nearly 6 hectares of 30-year old vines, and farms exclusively biodynamically - officially certified in 2012. The grapes are grown at high altitudes, on limestone and clay soils, allowing a slow ripening. Typically the wine begins a long, slow maceration in fiberglass, and then is moved to large older oak barrels for maturation, which lasts about one year.
Big changes have occurred in the Bornard domaine over the past couple of years. Philippe has retired and his talented son Tony has taken over the operation with little fuss and with few observable differences for outsiders. Tony is a meticulous operator both in the vineyard and in the winery. He has a very clear vision about what he wants to achieve and how he is going to achieve it. The winery and many of the vineyards are in the quaint commune of Pupillin which is quite close to Arbois near the Swiss border. Tony is building a new winery in this village so that his father’s house will no longer be given over to the winemaking operations.