{"id":22594,"date":"2019-01-18T09:25:05","date_gmt":"2019-01-18T09:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/?p=22594"},"modified":"2019-01-18T18:14:26","modified_gmt":"2019-01-18T18:14:26","slug":"alternative-bordeaux-5-natural-wine-at-chateau-peybonhomme-cotes-de-blaye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/bordeaux\/alternative-bordeaux-5-natural-wine-at-chateau-peybonhomme-cotes-de-blaye","title":{"rendered":"Alternative Bordeaux (5) natural wine at Ch\u00e2teau Peybonhomme, C\u00f4tes de Blaye"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Hubert family<\/a> are sixth-generation vignerons based in Cars, near Blaye. The family arrived at Ch\u00e2teau Peybonhomme-Les-Tours, which is on a small hill overlooking the Gironde estuary. Sister and brother Rachel and Guillaume Hubert run things these days, and the reason they are included in alternative Bordeaux is that they are one of the relatively few properties in Bordeaux who have embraced natural winemaking.<\/p>\n

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Guillaume, Rachel and Jean-Luc Hubert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We climbed to the top of the 17th century tower and took in some of the views. Peybohnomme is a sizeable property with 60 hectares of vines spread across many plots. Rachel and Guillaume’s father, Jean-Luc, traces his family routes to the sailors of the Gironde who were instrumental in transporting wines, while his wife Catherine comes from a line of winemakers.<\/p>\n

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The family added Ch\u00e2teau La Grolet in 1997, and this is when they began exploring biodynamic farming. ‘In 1997 our father decided to move towards biodynamics,’ explains Rachel, ‘but it was a family decision.’ Ch\u00e2teau La Grolet is in the C\u00f4tes de Bourg appellation, and here there are 35 hectares of vines on a gravel\/clay base. Both properties are now certified biodynamic.<\/p>\n

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‘We decreased production in order to make better wine,’ says Guillaume. ‘I was very interested by what I saw when I visited other winegrowers, and this gave us new meaning.’<\/p>\n

He thinks that people have a bad impression of C\u00f4tes de Blaye, which is unwarranted. ‘The name of the appellation is a limit,’ he says. ‘We know it is a good terroir \u2013 we want to reveal [it at its] best. Biodynamie is the only way to reveal the potential of the terroir. Organics excludes the pesticides, but with biodynamie you add something.’<\/p>\n

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Concrete fermentation tanks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The soils are limestone with some clay, especially at the bottom, but at the top of the hills there is just limestone. ‘We are on an old sea bed,’ says Guillaume. ‘We feel the influence of the estuary here.’<\/p>\n

In the C\u00f4tes de Blaye there are just 2 biodynamic producers out of some 400, although there are 10-15 farming organically. ‘At the moment people aren’t prepared to pay more for organic or biodynamic wine in France.’<\/p>\n

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The cellar at Peybonhomme doesn’t look like a typical Bordeaux example: rather than rows of barrels, it’s full of terracotta amphorae. They began experimenting with these in 2014. They come in a range of sizes, and are more breathable than oak, allowing a bit more oxygen transmission. Most of these are from Tuscany and hold 450 litres, but they also have smaller ones from Autan in the Languedoc that hold 160 litres. They still use barrels, but this is an interesting development.<\/p>\n

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‘We add nothing to the wine,’ says Guillaume, ‘except for some SO2 to a total of 40 ppm.’<\/p>\n

A short film:<\/p>\n