2020 Domaine Bornard Pinot Noir L'Aide Mémoire

WINEMAKER: Tony Bornard
REGION: Jura, FR
VARIETY: Pinot Noir
VITICULTURE: Certified Biodynamic

Pinot Noir from Arbois Pupillin fruit aged in barrels. This wine is ideally-suited for aging. Lovers of Burgundian-style Pinot Noir wines might find this one a bit different! There is an earthiness to this funky, ‘alive’ wine that we find quite appealing. There are notes of mushroom (in a nice way) and cherry and a mineral finish that is quite long. As with many of Tony’s wines, this one has that lovely savoury, umami quality that makes you want to take another sip.

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.