2011
Definitive abandonment of weeding, anti-rot treatments and chemical fertilizers.
2012
First single-plot vintages:
“The Salt Flats” and “Clay on Schists”.
First blended vintage:
“Sel de Marius” (Pinot noir and Gamay).
2012 to 2016
5 long years…
The vines, without chemical infusions,
must readjust:
25 to 35% loss!
2017
Finally a good harvest!
The life of the soil resumes, that of the vine too...
Start of Organic Agriculture certification.
Planting of the first Persian vines.
A new single-plot vintage:
"The Flow of Proserpine"
2018
First vinification without sulfur for all red wines.
First vinification in amphorae for “Les Granges Tissot” and “Les Salins”.
First time, Thomas and his mules in our old vines.
2019
All wines are vinified without sulfur.
2020
First vintage certified AB for all our 2020 red wines.
First bottling for 2 new little ones,
“Arbyolâ” (red Persian grape variety) and “Ripe Soleil” (orange wine).
2021
Biodynamics, make it happen.
First vintage certified AB for all our 2021 white wines made from the Jacquère grape variety:
Chignin Old Vines and Clay/Shale.
2023
Our harvest is certified biodynamic (Demeter).
WINEGROWER, FIRST LET NATURE TEACH US...
"Chronicle of a region that almost escaped us"
The Enchantment
From 2005 to 2008, there were these very first 4 vintages of our Exception cuvée. The wine, drawn from these hillsides that had just been cleared and brought back into cultivation, was very good, EXCEPTIONAL, and also, we had no doubt, ETERNAL.
Disillusionment
And then after 2009, the train of good vintages continued on its way, but without us! Clearly, Exception 2010, 2011, 2012 would never enter the league of our previous great vintages.
This period was difficult and full of doubts: thinking you had entered the very closed world of great terroir wines and then finding yourself on the sidelines. What a disappointment!
It was becoming vital for our soils, our terroir, our wines, our mental health... to change methods!!
Chemistry, a false ally
The first lesson was that a beautiful terroir alone was not enough. It seems our interventions, lasting barely a decade, had halted one of the "movements" of our new "beautiful terroir."
This terrible observation called into question some of our certainties. We went to seek the opinion of some people who had explored other avenues, and the diagnosis was quick and unequivocal. A vicious downward spiral had begun, implacable: chemical weedkillers, lifeless lands that erode, malnourished and diseased vines, therefore curative products... Physiological imbalances still increasing, more chemical products... Badly made grapes, bad juice, therefore more industrial products and yeasts in the cellar to mask the lack...
A door opens
So, we continued to work, observe, weigh, in the vineyard but also in books, manuals, with fellow winegrowers… Another profession, in short. From one piece of information to another, it took a little time to get to grips with the vast world of life that we breathe, on the surface, quietly, and on which we walk every day, totally ignorant. A world where earthworms, bacteria, fungi, mycorrhizae return the elements of the soil to the plant which itself then finds its balance, its self-defense mechanisms…
A good reason to continue
Year after year, understanding this mechanism, this phenomenal machine of life whose levers are far more powerful and beneficial than any chemical crutches, became, if not an addiction, the right reason to continue this profession. Respect for life requires making choices. Between these two, ... understanding to do better ... and working to earn more ... one is becoming less and less relevant!
2011 | ANOTHER WORLD OF LIVING THINGS: THE SOIL
No more chemical weedkillers
Superficial plowing and mowing, we decide to generalize this method to the entire vineyard. The experience acquired over the previous 10 years in the "new" southern slopes of the Savoyarde, shows us that rested soils, never having undergone chemical weeding, in other words healthy, natural and living soils, allow us to produce wines of great complexity. But that a few years of chemical spreading on the soil is enough to reduce everything to nothing. This is both the power and the fragility of the living. This link which allows, starting from the greatest source of energy available on earth, photosynthesis, to create from the plant cover of the soil, an entire underground ecosystem which in turn nourishes the vine. A nutritional contribution which includes all the diversity and therefore the particularity of the soil of the very place where it is found. This natural lever, where it is simply a question of making invisible "little creatures" work, opens up almost infinite perspectives as to the singularity and energy of the future wine.
2013 | THE TASTE OF PLOTS
The dangerous connections of typicality.
In 2013, the idea that single-plot wines are the natural continuation of living soils sounds like a no-brainer. So, let's move on to our first two vintages, Argile sur Schiste and Les Salins. But what lies behind the idea of ​​single-plot wines? The key is to understand and differentiate between these two notions: authenticity and typicity . Making wines of a certain type is a trend that appellation wines have adopted with specifications directing a typical aroma and taste for each wine , which many small chemists are trying to achieve in their cellars with the help of a few well-known recipes. This is not making authentic wines , which stick to the reality of the place and to a way of doing things that only uses natural levers. Levers that are too complex and that the chemistry of typicity cannot reproduce.
2012 – 2016 | THE GRAPES OF CHANGE
The Long Road of the Natural Fertility Cycle
A third fewer good grapes! Five long years of conversion... The notions of quantity and volume are often opposed to those of quality, especially in wine, we agree. A harvest base is nevertheless necessary if we want to continue in the profession! Vines in conversion, without infusions and chemical crutches, must readjust. The return of grass to the vines, before being an ally towards the self-fertility of the soil (carbon entry), is first and foremost a direct competitor of the vine (nitrogen hunger). The drop in production is then spectacular... for us, a quarter to a third fewer good grapes! The beginning of balance of the different biomasses, soil bacteria, earthworms, rhizosphere... is only reached after 4 to 5 years, in the best conditions. We will have to wait for the 2017 harvest to put back and keep some wine in the cellar for aging.
2020 | AB CERTIFICATION
A little stamp! All our red wines (2020 vintage) are certified Organic Agriculture, it always looks better, a little AB stamp on the label!
Learn more
1850-1995 | Our Family History
Discover the beginnings of our estate, the story of our grandparents, the journey from mixed farming to wine-growing.
1995 to 2010 | Our turn!
Denis and Didier took over the reins of the estate and embarked on major projects, such as the re-parcelling of Chignin-Bergeron . At the same time, the estate's wines were included in the Revue du Vin de France's Guide to the Best Wines.