ARBOIS PINOT NOIR BIO 2020

Grape Varieties

Pinot Noir is often blended with other varieties, for its flavour and cellaring potential. It can also be enjoyed as a single-varietal wine. Planted since the 15th century in the Jura, on gravelly soils, it is often the first vine variety to ripen in the area. It gives red wines with a strong colour and hints of wild mushrooms, cherries and wild berries.

The vines of this Arbois Pinot Noir are cultivated under organic management since 1997. They are around thirty years’ old and now fully mature. Planted in chalky/clayey ground (Pinot Noir's favourite soil), they are now yielding their best crops and contain the Jura terroir's authentic character.

Tasting notes

The wine’s purple colour is rivalled only by its aromas. It has a deep colour and intense aromas. The nose gives off small black berries (blackcurrant and blackberry). It has an attractive length on the palate, with a slight astringency that bodes well for the future.

Food and wine paring

To be enjoyed with quail and red berries, sautéed duck breast, oeufs en meurette (poached eggs in red wine sauce) or just with a delicious cut of roast beef.

Serving suggestions

The ideal temperature is around 14°C. (57°F.)

Ageing potential

6 to 8 years.

Appellation

The Jura wine region is small in size but large in its remarkable diversity. It covers 80 kilometers between Burgundy and Switzerland, in the eastern France.

The Arbois AOC is the oldest and largest of the Jura's four geographic AOCs. In particular, it was France's first AOC (created in 1937). Its name originates in the Celtic words "ar" and "bois" that would mean "fertile land".

Winemaking

The harvest is received by hand and sorted on a sorting table. Fermentation lasts approximately 15 days in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, with pre-fermentation cold maceration and end of vatting at 30°C to ensure maximum extraction and a full-bodied wine. Regular punching down and pumping over throughout fermentation. Aged in oak barrels for 9 months (20% of new oak).

Vintage : 2020

In the Jura, the drought was a little less severe than in other regions, thanks to the rainfall in August. One of the challenges of this very early vintage was to combine ripeness and balance.

A month of harvesting in our vineyards and a fine crop, the fruit of replanting and restructuring the vineyard over the last five years.

The harvest began on 17 August with the crémants. We were the first estate in the region to start so early, but this enabled us to obtain the best acid balance for the blanc de noirs. On 4 September we harvested Château-Chalon and its Savagnin destined for the veil.

Normally, the harvest always ends on these parcels, but this year we opted to maintain good acidity by picking early. The last Savagnins were harvested on 18 September. During the first tastings, the Chardonnays revealed citrus notes and a mineral dimension despite their high ripeness. The Pinot Noirs are fruity, with ripe tannins.

Awards

March 2024 - GLOBAL PINOT NOIR MASTERS - Bronze Medal

January 2023 - GUIDE HACHETTE - 1 Etoile