Moulin-à-Vent/VDF ‘Docteur Buchaille’ Julie Balagny

Farming : Organic

 

Winemaking : Hand-Picked Grapes | Native Yeast Fermentation | Unfined | Unfiltered | No Added Sulfites

 

Region : Beaujolais, France

 

Grape : Gamay

 

Alcohol by Volume : 12.5%

Notes:

 

The vines here are high in elevation and planted in a hill with much less clay and more decomposed pink granite than most of Moulin-à-Vent, resulting in a more elegant style more reminiscent of a Fleurie. Docteur Buchaille is not a real doctor. To “prendre une bûche” is to injure yourself out of stupidity and I have a hunch it’s a reference to that. Heal yourself with Gamay! In the 2018 vintage, this wine was rejected by the INAO and forced to be declassified from Moulin-à-Vent to Vin de France. Since then, Julie has decided to apply for the appellation each vintage but has no problem declassifying the wine if need be.

The labels are designed by Julie’s friend Delphine and change every vintage.

Julie Balagny landed in Fleurie in 2009 after many years heading the cellar of biodynamic pioneers Terre des Chardons. Originally from Paris, her first career seemed destined to be in psychomotricity, the process of teaching basic motor skills to the mentally handicapped.

After heading the cellar of a more “chemical” estate, then Terre des Chardons, Julie decided it was time to start her own project. With her sites on either the Beaujolais or the Jura, she did some research, and with the help of Yvon Métras and Michel Guignier, was able to purchase her current property, an isolated clos with 3.2 hectares of vines, two hectares of prairies and three hectares of woods. Inspired by her past experience at Terre des Chardons, Julie quickly saw the biodynamic potential of this land:

“The vines support the woods, the woods supply the livestock (Julie owns and tends sheep), the livestock supplies the soil: everything works together, everything is coherent.”

The Fleurie site, apart from being idyllically beautiful, has proven to be a very interesting terroir. As mentioned above, the site is completely isolated and surrounded by woods. The vines themselves are on a very steep hill, making any mechanical work impossible and forcing Julie to do everything by hand. The vines vary drastically in age (30 to 90) and are grown on three separate, distinct soil compositions: pure granite mixed with pebbles and sand,  granite and quartz and granite with basalt. In 2015, Julie was able to acquire a hectare of Beaujolais planted in clay, pebbles and sand and 0.7 hectares of
Moulin-à-Vent. The latter are old vines (50+) planted on a steep hill of decomposed granite.