Rosé is our labor of love, which also means a quest to produce wine of consistently high quality that reflects its terroir. Because this can only work with nutrient-rich soils and a tremendous amount of species diversity in the vineyards, we have transitioned our entire portfolio to organic viticulture. Organic certification, which we successfully completed in 2022 (AB – certifié Agriculture Biologique), required a complete cessation of any herbicides, insecticides, or synthetic pesticides or mechanical soil preparation.
Our commercial work incorporates sustainability from start to finish. Part of this is a bio-dynamic approach, which informs many of our individual, intensive bio-dynamic applications. We perform these with full awareness that the process is far from finished and must be constantly tailored to the natural conditions of the region and vintage.
10 billion microorganisms are responsible for healthy vitality in even such a small quantity of humus. But they need water, air, and nutrients to perform their radically positive work for the overall ecosystem in the vineyard. Because climate change has also increased drought stress on the vines, a high share of humus improves the soil’s ability to store water, and with it nutrients. To promote this, we use specific cover crops in our vineyards, including buckwheat, field beans, oats, and vetch. Soil temperatures remain lower in their shade, which helps the grapes mature more evenly and preserves the water reserves in the soil.
Special natural ferments and biodynamic preparations further support these plants and vines through especially dry, hot, and otherwise stressful phases during the key growth periods, increasing the vitality of the soil. This in turn encourages the accumulation of carbon in the soil, which promotes active humus formation. This carbon is drawn from the atmosphere in the form of CO2 and is an important part of reducing the CO2 footprint of Domaine de la Coquillade. Beyond this, cover crops positively influence the health of the vines, allowing us to significantly reduce the use of plant protecting agents.
The creation of natural yeasts in the vineyard, which perish each year in winter and must then recolonize the vineyard each spring, is of significant importance to us. These natural yeasts are the key to the successful wild ferment of wines in the cellar without the addition of commercially bred yeasts. We are grateful for this small miracle of nature: wild yeasts survive the winter in the digestive tracts of insects, especially wild bees. Once the flowers begin blooming, those insects are lured out of their winter domiciles, they then deposit those yeast cells from the previous year in the vineyards. Wind and rain are efficient helpers for the natural dissemination of these yeasts, which must later be present for fermentation. The yeast population, which is replaced year after year, is a factor in the expression of a specific vintage in a specific site and emphasizes the singularity of each wine.
