About the Domaine
Arbois native, Cédric Mottet, did not come from a family of vignerons. His father was a police officer, and his mother worked at the library in Arbois. Despite no family connections, Cédric was always fascinated by the vineyards surrounding Arbois and spent much of his youth working for various producers in the region. An accomplished musician from a young age, if Cédric was not in the vines, you could find him playing one of the many instruments he is proficient at.
In his late teens Cédric left the Jura to study music and become a professional jazz musician. To make ends meet he took a job in public works marking highways. After a few years, Cédric came to the difficult decision that being a professional jazz musician was not his true calling. Still enamored by the wines of his homeland, in early 2016 Cédric returned to Arbois with an aim to one day start his own Domaine.
Upon his return to the Jura things started to move quite quickly for the would-be vigneron. Apprenticeships in 2016 and 2017 with the likes of Jean Claude Credoz, Domaine du Pélican, Domaine de la Touraize, and Domaine de la Renardière gave Cédric the confidence to start his own Domaine. In 2017 Cédric purchased a 1.6ha plot of old vine Chardonnay named “Les Nouveelles” from Stéphane Tissot, and established Domaine des Notes Bleues – named as nod to his love of jazz.
In 2018 he purchased an additional 3ha around Arbois and Mesnay in the zones of “La Chenaillotte,” “Le Cul du Bray,” “les Graviers Saint Paul,” “en Muzards” and “Clos de Verreux.” Then in 2019 Cédric planted a .75 parcel of Savagnin at a place called “Les Sarres” near Grozon just outside of the Arbois zone in the Côtes du Jura appellation. Finally in late 2021 Cédric purchased a 1.2 ha parcel of Chardonnay and Savagnin named “La Pierre” located in Buvilly. Cédric has no plans to expand the Domaine beyond its current size of 6.5 ha.
Inspired by Tissot’s parcellaire approach and the precise biodynamic farming and winemaking of Jean-Michel Petit of Domaine de la Renardière, Cédric crafts tiny quantities of site-specific wines from organically farmed local varieties. For the most part the reds are bottled young after 8-10 months in stainless-steel, and the whites bottled after a minimum of 2 years in used oak barrels. There are exceptions and given the financial difficulties of making wine in the Jura, certain white cuvées are released earlier. Cédric is also experimenting with hybrid varieties that are better adapted to more severe weather conditions brought on by global warming.
Like the great jazz musicians he admires, Cédric is innovative, but also grounded in the traditions of classical Jura wine. Year after year the wines have improved, and we don’t see that changing. Cédric has youthful enthusiasm with the precision of someone who has been making wine for decades. For us that’s a recipe for success.
