Bonneau de Martray's journey into Biodynamics

Early that morning Becky sent me out into the day with a strict warning. "For God's sake, don't ask Jean-Charles about Aligoté!" In the moment, hanging the left out of her drive, I feared that if I didn't heed her, I'd live to regret it. 

Perhaps J-C harbored a dark secret--an Aligoté living in the attic, or illegal vines on Corton, or  perhaps more likely, she was afraid I'd bore him to death, and she liked him too much to suffer the loss. But the largest landowner on Corton going BioD was big news. I'd keep my mouth shut and focus on the 505 and other preparations at hand. Leaving Claire Naudin in a hurry, not wanting to be late, 

I rode the ten minutes into the rabbit warren like village of Pernand.                                               

                                                

Best intentions and all of that, I got my times screwed up.  Jean Charles le Bault de la Morinière of Domaine Bonneau de Martray  had been waiting for me for thirty mintues.

With a high forehead and the tame side of wild steel-wool eyebrows atop of mirthful eyes, a lanky, lean frame, J-C also has a high school boyishness that will keep him forever youthful.

He speaks his English with an accent as aritsocratic as Grand Cru as the vineyards he took over from his father in 1994.

So, with Claire's vibrant wines still singing in my mouth  Jean Charles asked me what brought me to Burgundy this time. I on auto pilot blurted out, "I''m writing a story on Aligoté for the World of Fine Wine."

So much for my ability to follow instructions.

"I should very much like to read this," he said.  

We quickly fell into the quagmire of what is terroir and the fate of Aligoté, and he didn't seem to mind one bit. At one time Aligoté roamed as freely as earth worms in those vineyards, but slowly were ripped out because they were poor girls who couldn't afford their rent. As it turned out, his father ripped out the aligoté from Corton, it's last vintage was 1973. They were replanted. And ever since Jean-Charles realized something was wrong, they are being treated to some very fine agricultural finery. 

Domaine de Martray has been in Jean-Charles family for two centuries, and as a result they have phenomenol holdings, the largest of any other (on Corton-Chuck and Corton), around 27 acres of Grand Cru. But when Jean Charles took over the domaine in 1994, he saw a disaster waiting to happen. 

The problem?

"We were under threat of erosion. There was no sign of life in the top soil. It was normal to use the post World War 2 techniques  for quantity; mechanical and chemical work. We were encouraged by consultants to make wide use of chemicals to resist pests,  insects and control the weeds. We are subject to erosion on this side of the (west-facing)  hill. I also saw the creeping of moss as well (sign of death in the vineyard). This was not acceptable. This would be the  end to great terroir if I didn't take measures.  How is it in less than the life of one person, you can turn a vineyard into  a disaster?"

He  had been certified for organic since 2003, but there was still the erosion problem. He needed the healing of the earth to go faster. He thought about Biodynamics and  a visit with Humbrecht in Alsace convinced him. "I would do no harm to the land and it could do some good, so why not try?"

 He started to work 1/2 of each vineyard in organic the other 1/2 in Biodynamics.  His aim was to  be as scientific as possible using the  different techniques on same slope and soil types.

They picked and vinified the sixteend different parcels separately.

"The first thing that we saw were the soils," he said.

Jean-Charles is a self-doubter and he was eager to see what other people could see, just in case he was fooling himself. When  Martin Gold of Martin Scott came to visit in 2010, J-C took him to the vines in the rain. "Look at the soils," he said.

Martin saw the difference. Jean-Charles said, "He saw that the perfumes were richer and deeper in the Biodynamic vines. The soils  under the Biodynamic vines absorbed the water better. The soil was not as clumpy as in the organic, the moisture was quickly absorbed. and the soil was not clumpy but absorbed."

In the end, the  soils have better structure and better ability to resist erosion. 

Another difference he saw besides the soil were the leaves interpretation of light. "They were in a saucer-like form instead of hanging flat. Light danced through the leaves and the canopy. "Light," he has observed, "is at least as important, or more important than temperature, but few people ever talk about it."

And taste?

That remains to be seen, he's seen none of the increased acids, but he thinks there's more vibrancy. He would rather other people taste the samples  he's set aside of vinifications from the same plots from different cultivations to decide, and that will happen. But for now, his focus is totally on the healing of the soil, curbing the erosion and maintaining the health of a land that was almost lost. 

He anticipates his Demeter certification in 2013 and has been reticient about any articles stating his estate is Biodynamic until then. Why certification?

"It is important to do what we say and say what we do," he said. And until then, I can talk to you and tell you our process but I won't go around saying we are Biodynamic until we are certified."

 His notion of patrimony to the soil and place to be the prime motivation.  "We must be the best farmer we can be. We are obliged to give the next generation a vineyard better than we started with. We need to allow our vines to express their origins and vintage. The idea is to interfere as little as possible. The artisan, the farmer is trying to express something true. Then you have the industrial growers going for taste and consistencey. This would be the end of fine wine. This is my position."  

And with that we tasted.    
Bonneau de Martray Corton-Charlemagne:

2009- Honey and depth, but quiet on the nose and a little shy right now, on the palate. Marked by salt and slate and still too young, but the wine is starting to come into focus, almost embryonic. (around $100)

2007- Beautiful aroma yet also quiet, chalky, florality, orange and lime and some cholrine and caramel with a lite delicate whisper finish that belies it's specific finish, like someone with perfect pitch hitting  an A. (around $120)

I was just musing about whether it was true, whether Aligoté was a little wine, whether it could never have the greatness of chardonnay, even though I rarely yearn for it from any appellation, from grand cru on down (except, hello blanc de blanc!), when Bernard showed up in the tasting room with a dusty bottle that would confirm what I expected, that Aligoté, is a defender of Burgundy terroir like no other white grape in town.  And Becky will just have to forgive me.

 

 

Comments

[LCFwino]

"Light," he has observed, "is at least as important, or more important than temperature, but few people ever talk about it."

Amen to that.

[Bill Nanson]

JCLBDLM (!) even asked me not to write a word about his trip into bio, at east not before he was certified. I have the impression that his is very much a 'road to Damascus' type of conversion...

Nice report Alice!
Bill

[Alicefeiring]

Hey Bill, He still very sensitive and doesn't want to be known as a Biodynamic producer until he really is certified. He didn't tell me not to write about it, so it was fair game! Thanks for stopping by.

[Linus Hollis]

As wonderfully ecological as organic is, especially for the environment, biodynamic is the equivalent of probiotics for the vineyard. Whenever I express it this way, everybody gets it.

[Doug Tunnell]

Fascinating, Alice. Thank you.

A question -- I'm not sure what the following refers to:

"...he's seen none of the increased acids, but he thinks there's more vibrancy."

Are BD winegrowers reporting "increased acids" ?

Best,
Doug

[Alicefeiring]

Hello Doug,

So nice to know you stop by. I'll have to go and give the piece a good edit. He meant that many BioD producers see a healthie acid/pH relationship. I often hear this in hotter climates like California, for example. He's not seen this, and he's seen no change in wine/ juice chemistry, but he does see and taste the wines being more vibrant. But that too, he's reticent to say and would rather others be the judge of that.

What have you seen from Brick House?

[Binnotes.wordpress.com]

Engaging explanation of a potentially ponderous topic - touché re: light.

[Doug Tunnell]

I think "vibrant" sums it up nicely. More verve, more life...I'd have to really sharpen the pencil to say if we've seen changes in chemistry. There are so many variables here, especially in winelands on the margins.

[Brigitte Armenier]

Oh, finally someone who seems to be very clear in what he does and what he thinks!

[Ned Hoey]

One thing I'm mystified about is that "organic" offers unlimited possibilities, as long as whatever you're using meets organic standards. You can try any methodology, inputs, lunar cycles, whatever. One can even take what one chooses from BD and modify it to suit etc. BD is a pretty specifically programmed regimen, and considering the differences unique to each site, I've often wondered just how "one size" can fit all.

I don't see how, considering that significant difference in available options, someone could declare organic as being less worthy than BD. It isn't a comparison of different apples, or apples to oranges, it's a comparison of apples to fruit.

[Alicefeiring]

Hi Ned, And that is exactly what some people do, who are winging it on instinct. But in Jean-Charle's case, it would probably take a whole lot longer to experiment with which of the BD treatments work best for his needs then to follow the program. And his point was to speed up the process of healing.

I know in DRC's case, Aubert says that they never saw a difference between organic and biodynamic, but that might be because DRC never chemically farmed so the basic health of the soil was there in the first place. Like you, I personally don't believe there's any one way, except the way that feels right.

[Brigitte Armenier]

Alice, where did you pick up the idea that the nine biodynamic preparations can be divided and used as objects according to "one's needs"?

[Alicefeiring]

Hello Brigitte, I'm not sure that I stated that idea at all. I do know people who worked with biodynamic practice and then left, but kept some preparations that they particularly liked or believed worked well for them.

[Brigitte Armenier]

Sorry Alice, but that one would "keep some preparations" only means that one had not understood Biodynamics in the first place!