Pupillin's Precision Farmer
Domaine de La Borde is one of the Jura's most exacting natural wine producers — a 5-hectare estate in Pupillin, the heart of the Arbois appellation, founded in 2003 by Julien Mareschal at just 23 years old. Born into a family of cereal farmers in Saint-Étienne, Julien studied agronomy and oenology in Dijon before realising that viticulture, not grain, was his calling. He moved to the Jura, bought vines in the marly valleys of Pupillin, and set about building a domaine that would become a reference point for the region's new generation. Influenced profoundly by local legends Pierre Overnoy and Emmanuel Houillon, Julien's philosophy is simple: the wine is made in the vineyard. The entire estate has been certified organic since 2011, with biodynamic preparations introduced in 2009 and strict biodynamic farming applied since 2012. In the cellar, he is meticulous and hands-off: indigenous yeasts, no fining, no filtration, and zero added sulfur for his Poulsard cuvée — with only tiny amounts used for others when absolutely necessary. His wines are renowned for their purity, tension, salinity, and profound minerality — a precise and direct expression of Pupillin's blue marl-rich valleys and complex geology. When not in the vineyard or cellar, Julien hosts jazz evenings and plays bass or piano at home — a vigneron who understands that creativity, whether in wine or music, demands patience, listening, and respect for the material.
From Cereal Farms to the Vine
Julien Mareschal was not born into wine. His family were cereal and grain farmers in Saint-Étienne, in the Loire region, and his earliest exposure to agriculture was through wheat and barley, not grapes. But the land called to him, and he enrolled in agricultural school before continuing to a wine university in Dijon, where he studied oenology. From there, he gained experience in renowned regions including Burgundy and Bordeaux, learning the classical techniques that would later inform his rejection of them [^45^][^50^].
At 23, Julien made the decisive move to the Jura, establishing Domaine de La Borde in 2003 in the village of Pupillin, within the Arbois appellation. The name "La Borde" refers to the small farmsteads typical of the region — modest, grounded, and connected to the land. Initially, he made a living partially as a music teacher, but the vines quickly consumed his attention. His early years were shaped by the influence of two local legends: Pierre Overnoy and Emmanuel Houillon, whose natural wine philosophy — indigenous yeasts, no sulfur, minimal intervention — became the template for Julien's own approach [^44^][^45^].
The transition to organic farming was swift and absolute. Official organic certification was achieved in 2011, but biodynamic preparations had been trialled since 2009. By 2012, biodynamics were strictly applied across the entire estate. Julien's motto — "The wine is made in the vineyard" — is not a slogan but a daily practice. He focuses on healthy soils, natural grassing between rows, and the elimination of chemical weeding and synthetic molecules. The result is a vineyard that functions as a living ecosystem, producing grapes that require almost no intervention in the cellar [^44^][^50^].
"The wine is made in the vineyard."
— Julien Mareschal
Pupillin, The Blue Marl Valley
Pupillin is a village of just 300 people, yet it punches far above its weight in the world of wine. Known as the "capital of Ploussard" — the local name for Poulsard — it sits within the Arbois appellation in the northern Jura, surrounded by valleys of blue and grey marl, limestone, and clay. Julien's 5 hectares are spread across several sites, some at elevations up to 550 metres, making them among the highest in the appellation. The diversity of soils and exposures allows him to produce a wide range of cuvées, each reflecting a specific terroir [^44^][^46^].
The soils are predominantly blue marl — a clay-limestone formation rich in minerals and fossils from the Jura's ancient seabed. The Côte de Feule, Pupillin's most famous vineyard, is a steep south-facing slope of deep red Triassic marl that Julien compares to Vosne-Romanée in Burgundy. Here, his Pinot Noir and Poulsard achieve a concentration and finesse that rivals the Côte d'Or. Other parcels sit on grey marl, gravelly limestone, and clay-limestone formations, each imparting a distinct character to the wines. The high altitude and cool climate preserve acidity and freshness, even in warm vintages [^46^][^50^].
Farming is organic and biodynamic, with no synthetic chemicals, no herbicides, and minimal mechanisation. Natural grassing between rows promotes biodiversity and soil health, while hand-harvesting ensures that only the finest grapes reach the cellar. Julien's meticulous attention in the vineyard means that the fruit arrives in pristine condition — healthy, balanced, and expressive of its site. This is the foundation of his hands-off cellar approach: when the grapes are this good, the winemaker's job is to get out of the way [^44^][^50^].
A steep south-facing slope of deep red Triassic marl, the Côte de Feule is Pupillin's most celebrated vineyard. Julien's parcels here are planted to Poulsard and Pinot Noir, producing wines of unusual concentration and finesse. The red marl lends a warm, earthy complexity, while the steep angle ensures perfect drainage and sun exposure. This is where Julien's reds achieve their most Burgundian expression — elegant, perfumed, and deeply terroir-driven.
The "Terre du Lias" parcels sit on grey marl and clay-limestone soils, planted to old Chardonnay vines averaging 50 years. These soils produce whites of remarkable minerality and tension — tight, saline, and age-worthy. The Lias formation is younger than the Triassic marls, giving wines a fresher, more linear character. Julien's Chardonnay from this site is a masterclass in reductive precision, aged in 600-litre barrels with no batonnage.
A parcel of 40-year-old Chardonnay on gravelly limestone soils. The gravel content ensures excellent drainage and encourages the vines to dig deep for water and nutrients, producing grapes of intense concentration. The resulting wine is fresh, fruity, and mineral — a more accessible expression of Pupillin Chardonnay that still carries the domaine's signature precision. Fermented and aged in 600-litre barrels.
Julien's Trousseau parcel sits at a lower altitude (350 metres) on rich red marl soils, surrounded by limestone outcrops — hence the name "Sous la Roche" (Under the Rock). The younger vines here produce a Trousseau of gossamer elegance: silky red cherries, blood orange, pomegranate, and a refreshing grapefruit peel finish. The red marl gives the wine a subtle robustness beneath its ethereal frame.
Hands-Off With Precision
Julien Mareschal's cellar work is defined by a paradox: he is meticulously hands-off. Every decision is calculated to remove intervention, not add it. Fermentations are spontaneous, relying solely on indigenous yeasts that have been present in the vineyard and cellar for years. Temperature control is minimal — the wines ferment at their own pace, in their own time. The result is a slow, gentle transformation that preserves the grape's natural character and the vineyard's specific identity [^44^][^50^].
The whites are made primarily in the ouillé (topped-up, non-oxidative) style, though Julien also produces expressive Vin Jaunes. For the ouillé wines, barrels are topped regularly to prevent oxidation, preserving freshness, fruit, and mineral clarity. The Savagnin "Naturé Foudre à Canon" is aged on its lees for 12–20 months in large oak casks (foudres), creating a wine of extraordinary balance — "steel and velvet," as one critic described it. The extended lees contact adds texture and richness without the weight of batonnage, while the large format oak preserves the wine's taut, mineral core [^52^][^54^].
Sulfur is used with extreme restraint. The Poulsard "Côte de Feule" is made without the addition of any sulfites — a remarkable achievement given the variety's delicacy. Other cuvées receive only tiny amounts at bottling, when absolutely necessary for stability. The wines are unfined and unfiltered, allowing the natural sediment and lees to remain in the bottle. This preserves texture, complexity, and the living quality of the wine — a choice that demands pristine fruit and immaculate cellar hygiene [^44^][^46^].
Julien's red wines have evolved significantly over the years. The Pinot Noir "Pinostradamus" is hand-harvested and macerated for two weeks in steel tank before ageing in a combination of stainless steel and amphora — a modern touch that preserves the wine's alpine freshness. The Trousseau "Sous la Roche" is de-stemmed by hand and aged in neutral Burgundy barrels, producing a wine of refined elegance. The Poulsard, made without sulfur, is a masterclass in gentle extraction — pale, aromatic, and hauntingly complex. These are not powerful wines; they are precise wines, and that precision is their power [^46^][^50^].
Steel and Velvet — The Savagnin Paradox
Julien's Savagnin "Naturé Foudre à Canon" is one of the most sought-after ouillé Savagnins in the Jura. Made from partially destemmed grapes, naturally fermented in large oak foudres up to 1,500 litres, and aged on lees for 12–20 months, it achieves a balance that seems almost impossible: indestructible acidity wrapped in a caressing texture. "It is not often that you find a white wine seemingly made of steel and velvet, but that's exactly what we have here," wrote Kevin Day of Opening a Bottle. The wine drinks like a Chardonnay with sinew — apple-like fruit, herbal tones, honeycomb, and a tightly wound mineral fabric that suggests decades of ageing potential. Yet it is also utterly enjoyable in its youth, a wine that can be "devoured" in a single evening or cellared for 20 years. This is the hallmark of Julien's approach: wines that do not demand patience, but reward it profoundly.
A Farmer's Exactitude
Domaine de La Borde has become a reference point for the Jura's new generation of natural winemakers — not because Julien seeks the spotlight, but because his wines demand attention. He is part of a wave of young vignerons who arrived in the Jura in the early 2000s with no family ties to the region, no inherited vineyards, and no obligation to tradition. What they brought was curiosity, rigour, and a willingness to learn from the past while forging their own path. Julien's path has been defined by exactitude: exacting vineyard work, exacting cellar hygiene, and an exacting refusal to compromise [^44^][^55^].
The domaine's reputation has spread quietly but powerfully. His wines are now found in top restaurants and natural wine bars from New York to Tokyo, praised by critics for their purity, tension, and salinity. The Chardonnays are compared to the finest white Burgundies; the Poulsard is cited as a benchmark for zero-sulfur red winemaking; the Savagnin has achieved cult status among collectors who understand that ouillé Jura whites can rival anything in France for complexity and ageing potential. Yet Julien remains grounded — a farmer first, a musician second, a winemaker by necessity [^44^][^50^].
What distinguishes La Borde from other natural wine producers is the combination of radical minimalism and classical precision. Julien's wines are not rustic, funky, or unpredictable — they are clean, focused, and deeply site-specific. This is natural wine made with the discipline of a classically trained oenologist and the soul of a jazz musician: structured yet improvisational, precise yet alive. As the Jura continues to attract international attention, Domaine de La Borde stands as proof that the region's future lies not in imitation of Burgundy or chasing trends, but in understanding and expressing its own unique terroir with clarity and conviction [^44^][^54^].
"It is not often that you find a white wine seemingly made of steel and velvet, but that's exactly what we have here."
— Kevin Day, Opening a Bottle
The Domaine de La Borde Range
All wines are farmed organically and biodynamically, hand-harvested, fermented with indigenous yeasts, bottled unfined and unfiltered. The Poulsard is made with zero added sulfur; other cuvées receive only minimal sulfur at bottling when necessary. The range covers all classic Jura varieties, with a focus on ouillé whites and delicate, precise reds. Production is small and vintage-variable — each cuvée is a direct translation of its specific terroir [^44^][^46^].