We are pleased to bring you a mixed case of red burgundies from producers in the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. Our selection includes 4 bottles of each of the following:

• Gevrey Chambertin 2001 Domaine Trapet
• Savigny les Beaune 1er Cru 2003 Domaine Tollot Beaut
• Vosne Romanée Les Hautes de Beaux Monts 2002 Domaine Bruno Clavelier

Total case: 406 €
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Burgundy vineyards are becoming more and more organic as time goes by. But these changes take place slowly over time and bring us many different terms that define how one cares for their vines. From one end of the spectrum to the other, here is a short list:

• Chemical protective insurance – This is the heavy artillery and the method used by most vineyard owners in the past. It consists of treating the vines continually during the period when threats to the vines are present. Of course, this method has its drawbacks: hazards to the environment, resistance has developed to treatments, elimination of natural predators and high costs.
• Integrated battle (lutte raisonnée) – This method arrived in the early 1990s and consists of closely monitoring ones vines to ensure that correct action can be taken when necessary. But only the right product to be used on the vines with the right amount at the right time.
• Organic viticulture – The base of organic agriculture is to banish all synthetic chemical products. Regulations were defined on the European scale in 1991 and more and more growers changed to organic methods after the “mad cow” scare. The practice is strictly regulated and consists of several audits per year.
• Biodynamic farming – This method is similar to organic agriculture in that it rejects all synthetic chemical products. But takes things a step further by taking into account the universe in its entirety. Biodynamic growers plan their vineyard tasks based on the position of the moon, the stars and the time of day. They apply vegetable, mineral or animal based preparations. The elements are brewed with dynamised water and small doses are applied to the vines. The creations are meant to make the soil and plants more receptive, more open to the influences of the earth and stars, recreating harmonious links with nature.

Overall, organic wineries are a minority in Burgundy. Official statistics list 59 estates or 3% of vineyard area. Some believe that the actual area of organic vineyards is double that number. Many vineyards owners are organic or even biodynamic but do not use that as a marketing tool or even apply for certification. Wineries here are small and independent and do not want to be “boxed in” by the regulations of official organic agriculture.

Many villages have now applied an organic-friendly method to protect the vines against a moth which is dangerous to the grapes. The method is called sexual confusion. To prevent proliferation of this moth, the air is saturated with pheromones, delivered through small brown plastic capsules placed on the bottom wire close to the vine foot. The substance prevents males and females from communicating, therefore, they cannot mate. Vineyard owners must all apply their capsules the same day and all vineyards in the village must be included. This is the only case in Burgundy today where vineyard owners cooperate for a common, environmentally friendly and cost-cutting objective.

Another organically-friendly method that has become much more commonplace in Burgundy is plowing the fields with horses instead of tractors. Soil studies have shown that the tractors are too heavy to use on soil that is meant to be aerated (and weeded) by plowing. When the Domaine de la Romanée Conti began plowing the Romanée Conti field with horses in 1999 many other wineries decided to do the same and today we have a large number of horses out in the vines when weather permits.

Horse plowing

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Tractor plowing

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The wineries we have selected for this mixed case practice different degrees of organic farming – two are biodynamic and one is lutte raisonée. .

Domaine Trapet

No one can express the poetic philosophy of Domaine Trapet (biodynamic farming) better than Jean-Louis Trapet himself:

Wine is one of the most civilized things in existence. In my capacity as a wine grower, the path of gentleness and respect enables me to make my way towards the highest degree of expression of my soils. This gentleness, chosen with due consideration, often follows the paths of tradition.

It travels across the vineyard. From the first buds to harvesting, the grape is accompanied but never forced. It passes through the fermentation room where the bunches of grapes are meticulously sorted and delicately pressed. It follows its course through the cellar where the wine gently oozes out in all solemnity. It finally slips into its bottle to set free in their entirety, some years later, its flavours and delicate, elegant and harmonious fragrances.

In short, the prospects that gentleness offers to the wine grower who knows how to follow them through are rich. Rich, too, are the heady perspectives for the amateur who knows how to taste them.
Jean-Louis Trapet

Domaine Tollot Beaut & Fils

The Tollot-Beaut family estate, created at the end of the 19th century, initially had vines in the village of Chorey-les-Beaune before stretching over the generations to Beaune, Savigny-les-Beaune and Aloxe-Corton. Today, the estate is run by three cousins who care for their 60-acres of vineyards. The motto of the family is “man builds the terroir, humbly, thanks to his perseverance, his knowledge, and learning on a daily basis.”

The estate plows, covers the vines with soil before the winter and removes that soil in the spring to air and regenerate soil life in order to better nourish the fruit. The vines are not fertilized which allows the vine to work harder in its natural environment and concentrate the flavors in the berries. A green harvest is performed in the summer to further concentrate the energy of the vine into a smaller number of grapes. The harvest is manual and only when the grapes are fully ripe. Each field is treated individually. The 2003 harvest gave yields down 35% those of a normal vintage due to the intense heat wave and drought.

Domaine Bruno Clavelier

This 16-acre estate started bottling and selling wines directly in 1992 and Bruno’s first vintage was in 1997 – he is the 5th generation of winemaker in this family. Most of their fields contain old vines, over 45 years old. Practicing biodynamic farming allows Bruno to keep his vineyards as pure as possible and he also looks for the purity in his wines. The driving force in his winemaking is to maintain the individual terroir in each wine – even producing 4 separate vineyard specific village quality wines. In a “normal” year he keeps approximately 10% of the stocks in the vats during fermentation. He also wants to preserve the fruit and fine tannins so only uses 30% new oak. All wines are bottled without fining or filtration. Bruno particularly appreciates the 2002 vintage for its suave, silky tannins adding that the vintage reminds him of a combination of 1990 and 1985 – quite a combination!