Christian Ducroux in Regnié: Great Vineyard Work, Delicious Natural Wines!

6/15/11 -

(Christian with new tractor, Photo: E. Lillie)

We are very proud to be working with Christian Ducroux in Regnie, whose vineyard work is certainly among the finest in the world. A visit to Christan's estate in Thulon, high above Regnié and Lantignié in the Beaujolais, is a lesson in commitment to natural, biodynamic farming and winemaking with zero additives or corrections. Christian's 2010 Beaujolais Prologue is a superb "nouveau" at 10.5 degrees alcohol, which is drinking beautifully now and we have just received his lovely 2010 Regnié and a tiny quantity of his 2008 Regnié Patience, all vinified and bottled with zero added sulfur dioxide.

The estate has been certified organic and biodynamic since 1985, and has operated as a nearly self-sufficient farm,' producing it's own fertilzer and compost, and plowing and harvesting almost entirely without machinery. The vines average over 60 years of age and are replaced by massale selection, giving yields of about 30 hl per hectare. Christian plows only in late spring and early summer, the frequency depending on the weather, leaving a thick grass cover most of the year.  He has pulled out two rows in each seven to plant fruit and forest trees, numbering about 60 trees per hectare, bringing bio-diversity to the vineyard. The work is intense and Christian has decreased the size of his estate to only around 5 hectares to better manage it. One of Christian's main concerns in the vineyard is to limit or eliminate the use of copper sulfate - the widely used "organic" treatment against mildew - as it is toxic to earthworms and other soil fauna that are essential to a living soil. In many years he has used no copper sulfate and is experimenting with natural treatments such as the plant fenugreek, or petit lait (whey). The resulting wines are light in body and low in alcohol (averaging 10.5 to 12 degrees) with complex aromas and flavors - perhaps what good Beaujolais tasted like before herbicdes, sugar and selected yeasts. And while we could charge a great deal more for these unique wines we have chosen to be consistent with Christian's intentions, to produce a high-quality and completely natural wine at an affordable price. We urge you to try them...