M. CHAPOUTIER & TWO OF AUSTRALIA’S GREAT VIGNERONS,
JOIN FORCES IN PRODUCING BIODYNAMIC BENCHMARKS

For almost 200 years, M. Chapoutier has long been established as one of the top domain and negociant wine producers in the famed Rhone Valley region of France. Michel Chapoutier took over the reigns in the earliy 1990’s and immediately looked to present a fresh face to the world, by adopting a biodynamic philosophy to his viticulture.
In essence, this meant allowing the vineyards to naturally adapt to their specific environment without the use of chemical sprays and herbicides, coupled with rigorous pruning and soil management, all conducted and determined by the earth’s lunar cycle. The result are wines that are natural and speak intimately of their own terroir.
Not to rest on this change in direction, Michel through a blind friend of his, decided to double print all of his wine labels in Braille, the first person to adopt this initiative. What was next?

Michel Chapoutier has long seen the cooler growing regions of Australia as an ideal template on which to develop his biodynamic philosophy. Since 1998, M. Chapoutier’s Tournon Estate in Mt Benson, South Australia, has been producing « Rhone style » Syrah plus a Cabernet Sauvignon on the red brown soil of this cool viticultural area. Low yields and traditional French vinification has produced powerfull yet elegant wines, ideal for both cellaring and accompanying food.

But this was just the start...

Two joint ventures were on the horizon, firstly with Ron Laughton from Jasper Hill, then with Trevor Mast.

Five years ago, Michel and Ron planted new vineyards on the Cambrian soils of Heathcote in Central Victoria under the biodynamic philosophy. Both were excited about the use of original Syrah/Syrah cuttings taken from the hillside of Tain l’Hermitage in the Northern Rhone. The source vineyard in Hermitage was one of the few that survived phylloxera in the early 1900’s, making the donor vines 80-100 years old. Quarantined in Australia and then propagated without the use of rootstock, the vines were planted alongside « Australian » Syrah to produce a « best of both worlds » vineyard.

The first crop from this unirrigated vineyard was recently hand harvested, the fruit believed to be worthy of a first vintage release. Fermented in open concrete tanks with a long fermentation and maceration, the wine is now ageing in four year air dried French barrels made especially for it. We all look forward to releasing this wine in a couple of years.

So successful has the partnership between Ron Laughton and Michel Chapoutier been, that an opportunity of a joint venture in the Roussillon region of southern France is in full swing, with the recent purchase of a small 100 year old Carignan planting. Stay tuned for the first wine.

Three years ago, Michel Chapoutier, Trevor Mast and M. CHAPOUTIER's distributor in USA, Paterno Imports, invested in 100 acres of land in the Victorian Pyrenees. The land, called « Malakoff », is now planted to Syrah and Viognier. A trial batch has already been vinified by Trevor which gave an amazingly high quality wine, providing the foundation for producing an exceptional biodynamic world class wine in the next 5 years.

M. Chapoutier will continue to push the boundaries of winemaking and grape growing both in France and in Australia. The goal is to produce Syrah from cool climate terroir, combining the skills of top Australian Vignerons with the experience of the Rhone Valley.