Dear friends,
A very happy new year to you! Despite the challenges we’re all facing, I hope your 2023 will be cheerful, healthy and full of delicious new wines!
This year, we’ll be launching a new low-sulfite oak-matured 2022 Château de Lardiley Sauvignon Gris in addition to a 2022 no-sulfites-added and USDA Organic-certified “pure fruit” vintage (and a 2022 Château Mamin Graves Red). You can read about our biodynamic Bordeaux whites here.
This month, you can also discover vine layering, a traditional technique for restoring damaged vines that fits our eco-friendly approach to wine farming.
I’ve included some news about BioEthik Bordeaux’s sustainability commitments, as well as the latest on our hens and donkeys. And I invite you to discover a delightful wine-cum-bookstore Alice Cap Ferret, along with our new egg campaign on social media.
Warmest regards,
Vincent.
“Let food be thy medicine” – Hippocrates
Coming up: two new Château de Lardiley Sauvignon Gris cuvées
If you’ve a fan of our biodynamic Château de Lardiley Bordeaux white, rest assured we’ll soon be bottling a no-sulfites-added cuvée at the end of February.
This “pure fruit” version is made from free run wine and is pure with a powerful sauvignon gris aroma. In addition, you can order an oak-matured, low-sulfite cuvée made from press wines, delicately racked before maturation. The result is a remarkable blend of ripe yellow fruits and complex vanilla notes. We originally announced a single blended version but wanted to keep a non-sulfites-added offering while experimenting with oak maturation, which requires some sulfites to prevent oxidation. Both wines are certified organic and Demeter, and our “pure fruit” vintage is also endorsed by USDA Organic. Contact me for samples!
Have you heard of layering?
Every year, 3-4% of our vines naturally die and need replacing to maintain vineyard density. Instead of installing new plants that struggle to grow in extreme cold and heat, we’re returning to a traditional technique known as “layering.” This means burying a cane from a healthy vine, which will then sprout its own root system and grow back up in the place of a missing vine.
After two years, the new cane can be severed to grow independently. Although this technique is time intensive, it’s an effective way to adapt to climate change.
Be a regenivore!
“Calling yourself a climatarian is so 2022,” says the New York Times in a recent article. “The new term is regenivore.”
That means not just eating sustainably or neutralizing your environmental impact but choosing products from companies that are actively engaged in healing the planet. That’s why we’re taking our commitments even further this year, with an upcoming Planet FWD carbon assessment, reinforced traceability (all our certificates and analyses will be posted online in February), and more! Watch this space…
Egg-citing news: our hens are laying again!
Last month you may have read about our Gascon hens, who naturally stop laying in mid-winter. Now the days are getting longer, our 200 feathered friends are back on the job, laying 150-200 more eggs every week. They’ve also been moved with their two Pyrenean donkey “bodyguards” from the vineyard to a new tree-lined slope. This 6-hectare field (300 m2 per hen) will protect them from the elements, birds of prey and infectious diseases. Their welfare is the key to healthy, tasty products!
Books and wine by the ocean
If you’re planning to visit Bordeaux, why not make a detour to Cap Ferret, an ideal destination for a gourmet oceanside weekend?
While you’re there, we recommend popping into Alice Cap Ferret, “the bookstore that sells the most wine, and the wine shop that sells the most books in France.” At this Ali Baba’s cave, you can find our Château Mamin and Château de Lardiley biodynamic wines all year round, as well as our fresh biodynamic herbs in the warmer months. Thank you, Alice, for your longstanding business!
Love it!
Check out our new consumer campaign on Instagram and Facebook! If you’re outside France, I’m sorry, we only sell our extra-fresh biodynamic eggs locally. But if you’re near Bordeaux, we’d love to welcome you to our farm shop, Le Chai, at 19 route de Branne, Cadillac.