Christian Ducroux Regnie 2007 - A Lovely Biodynamic Beaujolais Cru!

5/6/2009 -

Christian Ducroux farms about 10 acres of old massale selection vines in the hamlet of Thulon, above Regnie. He inherited the estate  from his family in 1970 and converted to organic farming in 1985, later receiving Biodynamic certification from Demeter. His vineyard, which we visited on a cool, blustery day last February, is blanketed in green and bears no relation to the herbicided wasteland prevalent in the Beaujolais and elsewhere. Some rows have been removed to plant flowers and trees for biodiversity and plowing is done principally with his two horses. Harvesting is by hand using a horse-drawn wagon and fermentations are natural with wild yeasts. Alcohol levels are low here due to the poor soil, giving old-fashioned Beaujolais with beautiful aromatics. Not only does Monsieur Ducroux practice ecologically healthy and balanced agriculture, he makes lovely wines with pure complex fruit that we urge you to try...