The spirit of the place stirs the world of wine and spirits. Throughout France, winegrowers never tire of exploring the richness and diversity of their terroirs. Like the Champenois who emancipate themselves from the dogma of blending to glorify their plots, when the producers of crémant base their success on the typicality of their appellations recognized in France. Knowledge and understanding of origins remains the best way to be… original.
Contrary to popular belief, Burgundian winegrowers do not rely on their age-old climates: they like to change wine-growing landscapes when they have the opportunity. They thus established themselves in Beaujolais, in Ardèche, in Jura, in South Africa, or even across the Atlantic – in Oregon or Chile… Some crossed France from east to west and found their home. happiness in Languedoc, a land where many terroirs still need to be cleared, and where the multitude of grape varieties – there are nearly 60 authorized – offers a unique playground for our pinot noir convicts and chardonnay.
Laroche, the precursor
Michel Laroche was undoubtedly one of the first Burgundians to take a close interest in this southern vineyard. Then owner of a trading house in Chablis, he sought to extend his know-how to produce wines that were both fine and fleshy. In the mid-1980s, he leaned towards Languedoc, one of the largest wine-growing regions in the world with its some 230,000 hectares of vines, which offered him, given the diversity of terroirs, the opportunity to select the best and to plant the most suitable grape varieties. In 1985 he released his first bottle of L Chardonnay, made from a blend of several sources, before offering a wide range of wines. In 1996, he bought Mas la Chevalière, located on the outskirts of Béziers, which the Laroche estate, which passed into the hands of the Jeanjean family in 2009, continues to operate and develop today.
Delaunay, for the diversity of grape varieties
Laurent Delaunay is a pure Burgundian, whose great-grandfather, Edouard, founded a trading house in Nuits-Saint-Georges. He took the plunge in 1995 when he sold the family business. “I felt that something important and exciting was happening in Languedoc,” he explains. “It was the time of the emergence of varietal wines and many players from around the world were starting to “take a serious interest in it.” The opportunity for him to experiment with grape varieties other than Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. With his knowledge as a merchant, he could not imagine buying vines. With his wife Catherine, also an oenologist, they met winegrowers and cooperatives, persuaded them to give them part of their harvest and let them make wine in their facilities. Thus, Les Jamelles wines were born.
“We received an incredible welcome, the people of Languedoc were very open to our project. They immediately understood that we were going to help them without making them take any risks.” Ten years later, in 2005, the Delaunay couple had the opportunity to buy a small high-end trading house, Abbots, to which they attached their surname. “We practice Burgundian style work there, developing local wines with a strong identity,” continues Laurent. To complete it all, the structure purchased 150 hectares of vines. From now on, the couple, joined by their daughter Jeanne, make wine on 1,200 hectares in Languedoc. An undeniable success!
Limoux, the other country of chardonnay
The motivations of Christian Collovray and Jean-Luc Terrier are a little different from those of Laurent Delaunay. The two founders of the Deux Roches estate, in the south of Mâconnais, entrepreneurs at heart, went to Limoux, in the Haute-Vallée sector, where they discovered a dormant operation which they decided to take over in 1997. Limoux s of course imposes itself as the kingdom of chardonnay, enough to delight both partners. “On this terroir, the nights remain cool, which allows us to obtain beautiful balances. We produce wines with a style close to that of the Mâconnais”, explains Pierre-Alexis Terrier, Jean-Luc’s son, now in charge of the vineyard and the cellar.
But it is also an opportunity for our two friends to vinify other grape varieties. “The Burgundian duo of course remains the majority, but we also grow Chenin, Sauvignon, Mauzac for the whites, and Merlot, Syrah, Grenache, Malbec and Cabernet-Franc for the reds. We even have launched tests with savagnin.” As in Burgundy, the grapes are vinified in plots, even if, concedes Pierre-Alexis Terrier, the surfaces here are much larger: “The estate now covers around a hundred hectares, divided into four homogeneous zones, and produces around 600,000 bottles. We renamed it “Altugnac”, from the old name of the village of Antugnac where it is located.
A four-handed job
Divineo, of which Gauthier Girardon is the general director, is following an original path. After purchasing 20 hectares of Clodéric Prade’s vineyard, from Domaine d’Eriane, in Saint-Mamer-du-Gard, the company chose to vinify the grapes with winegrower partners in Burgundy. “It’s a unique experience,” observes Gauthier. “We give them carte blanche, on the sole condition that they let the terroir speak.” As soon as the grapes are harvested, they go to the five winegrowers, respectively located in Chambolle-Musigny, Chorey-lès-Beaune, Pommard, Maranges and Buxy. “We chose them because we love their wines. They can unleash their creativity and offer vintages that express both the terroir and their identity.” Divineo now offers seven vintages in Vin de France, for around 30,000 quiles. Ultimately, the house hopes to be able to produce up to 100,000 bottles.
One wine, two regions
Having one foot in Burgundy and the other in Languedoc also makes it possible to produce atypical vintages. It was somewhat constrained by the 2021 vintage, largely decimated by frost in Burgundy, that Pierre-Alexis Terrier had the idea of vinifying part of his Limoux Chardonnays in Burgundy barrels containing Saint-Véran lees and of Pouilly-Fuissé. A vintage cleverly named “Plan B”. “This initiative was a great success, which led us to extend the experience with wines where we blend grapes from Limoux and Burgundy. Of course, the bottles are marketed as Vin de France,” explains Pierre- Alexis.
Certainly, Languedoc did not wait for the Burgundians to produce lovely vintages, but this interest in a region whose wines are the most sought after by wine lovers will, without a doubt, give a welcome spotlight to these formidable terroirs of Hérault, Aude, Gard and Pyrénées-Orientales.