A fresh wind is blowing through the Jura! With her mischievous speech and her unfailing enthusiasm, Marie Bourdon is the perfect embodiment of the new generation of winegrowers in the region. She fully asserts her belonging to the identity and tradition of the region, while aspiring to more freedom and novelty in a vineyard that no longer has to prove itself and that must now renew itself in order not to be lost.

Indeed, the Jura has a wine sector that has been completely turned upside down over the last few years: demand far exceeds supply, superstar winemakers, unparalleled hype and media visibility, and wild economic speculation on certain bottles… it is not necessarily easy for the new generation to find its place in this context. Add to this the unaffordable access to land, reactionary and backward-looking agricultural institutions and the prevailing sexism: setting up in the Jura as a young winemaker is a real obstacle course.

However, this unfavourable context did not discourage Marie Bourdon from settling in Arbois. However, the young winegrower was not destined for this activity. In parallel with her studies, Marie worked for some time in restaurants, then became a sommelier. Gradually, she went through the looking glass and decided to make wine. She fell in love with the region and the finesse of its juices, and decided without hesitation on the Jura.

She began her training and quickly became the right-hand man of Raphaël Monnier of Domaine Ratapoil, one of the leading figures in natural Jura wine. In 2017, following the deadly frost that hit the region, they launched the “Avis de Tempête” business together, vinifying grapes from Alsace, Savoie and the Rhône Valley to compensate for the losses caused by the weather. One thing leading to another, Marie finally acquired a few parcels of vines here and there and was able to offer her first vintage with the 2019 vintage, the aptly named “Bogolan”.

Indeed, the word “bɔgɔlan”, coming from the Bambara language (mostly spoken in Mali), literally means “from the earth”, and resonates in our ears as the slogan of the winemaker’s work. Anchored in her land but looking to the future, Marie Bourdon and her wines are a delightful promise. Make way for the young!