2021 Domaine Bornard 'L'Aide Mémoire' Pinot Noir

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 cuvées 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 de-stemmed 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.