Organic wine produced by wine makers, is the result of a reinforcement of the vine’s natural defenses in order to limit treatments.
This philosophy requires time. That’s why it takes 20 to 30% more labour with regards to conventional wine production.
Organic or bio viticulture, is submitted to a number of obligations which among other things, forbids the use of chemical fertilizers or synthetic phytosanitary products (insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, etc.). However against the most common infections such as (mildew or oïdium), treatments based on sulphur or a copper based fungicide known as “la bouille Bordelaise” are the most commonly accepted and used.
The result of biological viticulture is obviously issued from grapes, that restitute all the “goodness,” one must not forget that traditional viticulture will transmit the shocks or the bad treatments that it has withstood for years to come. When organic wines are well made, they express a more savory maturity, offering a better gustatory presence. This result is due to the balance of tastes issued from quality grapes, they in turn, born from plants that undergo a slow and regular vegetative cycle.
When viticulture is associated to a grand “terroir,” one will find a harmonious regularity due to exceptional and ancestral vine growing techniques. The Clos Rougeard belonging to the Foucault brothers is the perfect example of this. It’s an exceptional Saumur-Champigny. When one has the privilege of tasting ten vintages, one is astonished by the homogeneous nature of this wine.
Other similar success stories of organic wines, of which some great names have assembled exceptional elixirs are mentioned here below.
- Anselme Selosse and his champagnes completely out of this world, that whispers stories of sap, and plants that are full of harmony and sensitiveness.
- Nicolas Joly and his Coulée de Serrant, a unique wine, born from a man’s strength of will and his creativity.
- Zind-Humbrecht and his exceptional late harvests, always listening to nature and offering the perfect balance.
- Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, that never tries to correct nature, but flows with it and helps her to more than aperfect finale.
- Domaine Armand Rousseau, where a reasoned battle is carried out over the whole domain, preserving quality over quantity.
And of course, the inevitables such as:
Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Domaine Jacques Frédéric Mugnier, mais aussi Thomas Picco, Agnès Paquet, Alain Burguet, Cécile Tremblay, Dujac, Jerome Dehours, Egly Ouriet, Domaine Sérafin …
