2012s from Christian Ducroux and Introducing Roland Pignard!
7/23/13 -
("Tractors" at Domaine Ducroux)
Christian Ducroux’s vines are healthy and happy – as we drove across the hills of Morgon last May, his vineyard glowed in the distance like a shining green oasis in the desert of herbicided and eroded soils of Beaujolais. Rows of fruit trees alternate with each 5 rows of vines, hedges and flowers frame the parcels and legumes and other plants fill the rows. Vineyard work is done with 2 horses and an enormous “boeuf” – their feed is largely grown by Christian and their manure is used to fertilize the vineyards. It's a truly beautiful vineyard and a wonderful example of self-sufficient biodynamic farming. Like other of the most committed organic growers, Ducroux avoids the use of copper sulfate, an organic treatment harmful to soil life. "There were many things to learn about controlling mildew and oidium” said Christian, during the extremely difiicult 2012 season - he experimented with clay and silica powders with plant extracts, fennugreek and a special copper combined with beet extract. Vinifications here are done without any additives or corrections, thus no sulfur-dioxide is used and the wines are never chaptalized. Christian's wines vibrate with life and are remarkably complex - they are profound examples of completely healthy and sane agriculture. The quantities available for export were tiny in 2012, only the "grisemottes," the small secondary grapes that ripen in late fall, produced a normal crop for his Esquisse Rosé - let's hope that 2013 will bring an ample harvest so we may offer larger quantities of these fascinating wines.
Last year, Christian opened a few bottles of Morgon and Regnié produced by his friend and neighbor, Roland Pignard. The wines were pure and lovely, low in alcohol and were among the most terroir expressive Beaujolais we've ever tasted. The Pignards have 4 and 1/2 hectares, with parcels in Beaujolais-Villages, Regnié and Morgon and are certified organic by Ecocert and Biodynamic by Demeter. They plow and till using horse-drawn implements to avoid compacting the soil. Picking is done by a team of twenty, the same people each year, who do a severe selection in the vineyard. Fermentations are with wild yeasts, with a relatively short 6 to 12 day carbonic-maceration. Roland feels that long macerations can result in the development of undeirable yeasts and bacterias, and gives wines that are too extracted. The Morgon Tradition is aged in old barrels, the other wines in cement cuves. No SO2 is used during fermentation or elevage, with a minimal dose added before bottling giving total SO2 of about 8 - 10 mg/L. The resulting wines have subtle, pure fruit with perfect acidity and a pronounced mineral character with graphite, stone and earthy qualities. Roland and Joelle Pignard are somewhat quiet and shy, but are determined to produce wines that express their terroir "with respect for the land, vines, our health and that of our consumers." We hope you try them! (Photo: Plowing at Domaine Pignard)
