ARBOIS PINOT NOIR 2022

Grape Varieties

100% Pinot Noir

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.

Tasting notes

With a deep ruby red colour, this wine offers very intense aromas. The nose show flavours of little black fruits, in particular blackberry and blackcurrant and the length is very nice in the mouth, with well-balanced tannins promising a great future.

Food and wine paring

Drink with small games, such as quails cooked with red berries, duck fillet or breast, marinated dishes or in accompaniment of a nice piece of grilled or roasted beef !

Serving suggestions

Serve ideally at a temperature of 15-16°C (59-61 °F).

Ageing potential

A great wine for keeping, 5 to 8 years at least.

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".

Domaine de la Grange Grillard

The Grange Grillard (Grillard barn) and its lands were formerly property of the Cluny Abbey in Burgundy, with vines attested planted there from 1029. The Grange Grillard estate covers nowadays around 37 hectares in the Arbois appellation area.

Grange-Grillard shows a typical landscape of the Jura foothills alternating small flat surfaces and a large coast (grande côte) culminating at 300 m and sloping gently to the Glanon river.

"The Grande Côte de Grillard" covers around 3,4 hectares (8,4 acres) on various soils made of marls and limestone scree particularly favourable to red grape varieties and more specifically to the Pinot Noir. Located on a mound close to the village of Arbois, the estate vineyard is Northwest and West exposed.

Winemaking

Reception of the harvest, with sorting on sorting table. Total maceration of 12 days in thermos-regulated stainless steel tank. Followed regularly throughout the fermentation, incorporating some pumping and pigeage (punching). At the moment of pressing, the press and drop juices of each cuvee are assembled and withdrawn for malolactic fermentation on fine lees.

Ageing, partially in oak barrels (including 15% new oak and 7% of wood from the Jura forest) for 9 months allowing to keep the fruity and typical character of the grape. Bottling is scheduled in June with a light filtration.

Vintage : 2022

Having endured the nights at the beginning of April, we were spared from the effects of the frost. A budburst on 13 April and flowering on 23 May promised an early harvest. June saw more than 150 mm of rainfall, allowing the marl soils to build up some healthy reserves to cope with the hot summer weather.

The harvest was running from 16 August to 15 September. The grapes destined for the Crémant du Jura opened the show on 16 August, being the earliest date on record at the estate. This decision paid off as the balance of acidity was in line with what we were looking for. For our other Jura appellations, a generous rainfall on the weekend of 20 August allowed the vines to finish ripening in the best conditions.

The excellent health of the grapes allowed us to prolong the harvest until mid-September, with the opportunity to boost the maturity of the reds to their best polyphenolic potential, particularly for the Pinot Noir grapes, creating powerful, full-bodied wines. The white Chardonnays and Savagnins express floral aromas with a perfectly balanced mineral structure.

Awards

January 2025 - LE GUIDE HACHETTE DES VINS 2025 - 2 stars

June 2024 - DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARDS - 90 pts - Silver medal

March 2024 - GLOBAL PINOT NOIR MASTERS - Silver medal

May 2024 - INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRIT COMPETITION - Bronze Medal

May 2024 - INTERNATIONAL WINE CHALLENGE - Bronze Medal