Farewell to Guy Bossard, Champion of Quality in Muscadet, Pioneer of Biodynamic Farming

5/25/23 -

Guy Bossard, founder of Domaine de L'Ecu in Muscadet passed away on May 12. He was a great influence in the progress towards organic and Biodynamic farming in the Loire and elsewhere, and showed, through his superb wines, that the terroirs of Muscadet could produce wines of great distinction, worthy of long aging. After his retirement he remained an influential figure in the world of Biodynamic wines, helping to present the important Salon St. Jean in Angers each year.

An excerpt from "The Flavor of Stone" 2008:

Guy Bossard, Domaine de l’Écu, Le Landreau (Gneiss, Orthogneiss, Granite)

Quick to laugh and frequently joking, Guy Bossard is often the center of attention. He is an energetic, youthful man of perhaps 60, barrel-chested but otherwise slight, with a large round face, bushy eyebrows, and a forceful personality. He chose to work organically in the 1970s, when those around him were turning to chemical treatments and machine harvesters. He has been biodynamic since 1992, applying the preparations at the required times and plowing six times a year. During the summer he lets the vegetation grow to compete with the vines, most of which are massale-selection, the average age being 25 to 30 years. His 22 hectares include gneiss and orthogneiss plus a small parcel on granite in Le Landreau. The wines are bottled according to terroir, but sometimes not within the time period specified by  the sur lie regulations.

In the winery’s comfortable tasting room, Bossard poured his “Cuvée Classique,” a lovely, balanced Muscadet from young vines, showing the length and minerality typical of his wines. Of the three terroir cuvées, the “Expression de Gneiss” is usually the most forward, with citrus and almond aromas, and in riper vintages also licorice, melon, and fennel. The “Expression d’Orthogneiss” adds a layer of herbal aromas, with more minerality and bitterness in the finish. The “Expression de Granite” is markedly different, with subtle mint and salty mineral aromas in the austere 2007 vintage, more melon, herbal, and menthol in the richer 2006, but both have a core of earth and mineral acidity, showing the wines’ aging potential. The same wine from 1998, a somewhat difficult, high-acidity vintage, was showing secondary aromas of mushroom, caramel, and hay over earth and melon with a strong, mineral finish. These rich Muscadets, to reveal themselves fully, often need decanting, or opening the day before.

It’s clear to me that, compared with conventionally farmed Muscadet, biodynamic agriculture has brought Bossard’s wines added density and potential aromatic and mineral expression. His unwavering commitment to these principles has been costly, however, because his lower yields have not been offset by the higher prices that biodynamic wines often receive in other regions.

As we walked in the parcel named L’Écu, we stopped to see an exposed section of metamorphic rock, whose folds and layers of yellowish mineral were topped by thin soil. While completely different in appearance from the granites and gabbros, the composition is chemically similar though structurally altered and rich in manganese. Bossard proudly scooped up the rich, dark soil, the product of almost 40 years of organic farming, and pointed to the health and vigor of his vines. We started to talk about the life of the soil and the way the vine is nourished by the networks of mycorrhizal fungi. Bossard demurred from going into the subject further. “Winemakers often lack humility,” he said. “We don’t need to explain everything, but to do our best to express the soil. We must leave the magic.”

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The next night, Bossard brought a 1992 and a 1990 “Cuvée Hermine d’Or” (which later became the “Expression de Granite”) to dinner with other winemakers at Villa Mon Rêve, a restaurant outside Nantes. The 1992, from an unexceptional vintage, was superb; the 1990 was very young and magical with many years to go. Bossard had slipped his favorite Louis Armstrong CD into the restaurant’s sound system and we sipped beautiful old Muscadet as the last notes of Louis’s solo on “Stardust” faded away. “A nice moment,” said Guy, raising his glass."

Thank you, Guy Bossard!