Arbois Pinot Noir Au Désert 2022 Domaine Sylvain Faudot

The Arbois Pinot Noir Au Désert 2024 from Domaine Sylvain Faudot is the most surprising and intriguing cuvée in the range, a Jura Pinot Noir from a lieu-dit with a mysterious and evocative name that demonstrates with elegance that Jura is far more than Trousseau and Poulsard country. Hailed as "a brilliant Pinot" by those who discover it, this wine marries the finesse of Burgundian Pinot Noir with the singular minerality and tension of Arbois terroirs, in a direct, sincere and immediately seductive style.

The Au Désert lieu-dit

The Au Désert lieu-dit is a parcel north of Arbois, in the commune of Saint-Cyr-Montmalin, in a sector whose name owes nothing to dryness or aridity, but rather to the isolation and harshness of the site, those remote and wild lands that former farmers called "desert" to signify an infrequently visited area, far from the village. Close by stands a chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony the Hermit, whose solitary visions were immortalised by Flaubert in a celebrated short story, a reference that nourishes the imagination attached to this singular terroir. The soils are composed of very ancient Triassic clay marls, with a particularly thin superficial layer, barely 15 centimetres, resting directly on a calcareous base. This soil fineness requires work with only light machinery to avoid compressing the earth and suffocating the roots. The vineyard is tended row by row: grass is maintained in one row out of two to limit yields and create healthy competition, whilst the other is manually and superficially scarified. This poor, well-drained terroir gives the Pinot Noir a tension and minerality reminiscent of the calcareous terroirs of the Côte de Nuits, plus the freshness and wild character distinctive of the Jura vineyards.

Tasting profile

The colour is a clear and brilliant ruby with fine transparency characteristic of Jura Pinot Noirs vinified without excess extraction. The nose is fine, precise and immediately expressive: aromas of fresh red fruits, cherry, raspberry, redcurrant, mingle with subtle floral notes of peony and violet, enhanced by discreet spice and chalky minerality that speaks to the calcareous imprint of the terroir. On the palate, the wine is supple, elegant and refreshingly bright: the tannins are fine and silky, the acidity vibrant and natural, bringing tension and definition, and the light body unfolds with a grace and clarity that recalls the finest Burgundy Pinot Noirs, without ever mimicking them. The finish is fruity, mineral and persistent, with that slightly wild and herbal return that marks the great Jura terroirs. A wine of pleasure and character, to drink in its youth or to keep for three to six years.

The domaine

Sylvain Faudot established himself in 1998 at Saint-Cyr-Montmalin, north of Arbois, taking over the family hectare before gradually building a 6 hectare vineyard managed under reasoned agriculture, without insecticides and with meticulous soil work parcel by parcel. Trained both by his father and by the house of Henri Maire, for which he delivered his harvest for twelve years, he vinifies each lieu-dit separately to reveal the specificities of each terroir. All five grape varieties authorised at Arbois are represented on the domaine: Chardonnay, Savagnin, Trousseau, Poulsard and Pinot Noir, each finding here a precise and authentic expression. The range includes notably a remarkable Vin Jaune, a Macvin du Jura and a 100% Poulsard Crémant rosé that spent 18 months on laths. A domaine run without fanfare, managed with passion and consistency, whose wines seduce through their honesty and sincerity.

Food pairing

This Pinot Noir Au Désert pairs beautifully with roasted farmyard poultry with herbs, rabbit with mustard, wild mushrooms sautéed with garlic and parsley, country terrine or a board of Jura cheeses such as 18 month aged Comté, Morbier or warm Mont d'Or in season. Served between 14 and 16°C, lightly chilled, it will reveal all the finesse and minerality of a Jura Pinot Noir of rare elegance.