Vineyards

Jaw-Dropping History

Twenty centuries of winegrowing: Morgon and Fleurie's vineyard history dates to Roman times (~100BC). By the 7th-10th century the vines were tended by Benedictine monks.

Morgon's and Fleurie's prestigious Appellation d'Origine Controlée (AOC) and "Cru" status were conferred in 1936 by France's Institut Nationale d'Appellation d'Origine (INAO), the same year as Pauillac and Romaneé-Conti.

Morgon and Fleurie are very small appellations. For perspective, at only 2,745 acres, Morgon is half the size of Napa Valley's "Oakville" sub-appellation and is dwarfed by the new West Sonoma Coast appellation which encompasses over 140,000 acres! The even smaller Fleurie appellation has only 2,075 acres.

Morgon and Fleurie are almost exclusively planted to the Gamay Noir grape which takes its name from the Burgundian hamlet - Gamay. It is the natural descendant of the Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc grapes, and is known for delicious medium-bodied, velvety red wines.

Plough horses Pompom & Gingembre working the rows

Snowy winter sunrise in my Fleurie vineyard

Location, Altitude & Microclimate

The rugged, windy hills of Morgon and Fleurie offer myriad microclimates and are sandwiched between the Massif Central mountains and the majestic Alps in central-eastern France. On clear days, we catch glimpses of the iconic Mont Blanc in the nearby Alps to the east. Burgundy's famed Cote d'Or is just a few kilometers to our north.

Morgon's and Fleurie's best cru vineyards are defined by a) high altitude, b) nutrient-poor granite soils, c) old vines and d) diverse topography. This diverse topography of winding hills, small valleys and more suffers the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune"; sleet, snow, hail, torrential rain, wind – and then weeks of glorious summer sunshine. A winemaker’s dream.

My Morgon "Bellevue" vineyard is up at about 400 meters (1,310') elevation and my Fleurie "Fonfotin" vineyard even higher at 460 meters (1,510'). Both are high up on the westernmost section of the appellation, often seeing snow in winter. Meanwhile, the famed appellations of Pauillac and even Romanée-Conti bask in relative warmth - at sea level.

Granite

In 2008, geologists began a decade-long research project to map every aspect of the region's soils. In addition to thousands of field visits and analyses, over fifteen-thousand six-foot deep holes were dug, soils identified and data entered into an expansive database. This hadn't been attempted at this scale in any wine region in the world before this. Today their efforts offer an unparalleled mosaic of soil diversity, one which winemakers could only dream about before, and which are now a reality.

Western Morgon and Fleurie soils are ancient, eroded, decomposed pink granite. Many contains quartz and mica but it's the feldspar that gives it its unique pink hue. Minerality anyone? Rain percolates quickly through these well-drained rocky soils, forcing roots to dig deeper. Unlike in California, irrigation is illegal in France.

My vineyard profiles are predominantly:

• (Morgon) ancient deep pink granite
• (Fleurie) ancient shallow (eroded) pink granite

My 70 year-old Gamay Noir vines struggle in Morgon's pink granite soil

Hillside & High-Density Old Vines

The easternmost vineyards in many "Cru" appellations tend to be flat and have fertile, loamy soils which can give much higher yields and are easily farmed with tractors (think inexpensive). Accordingly, some of the wines from these flat, fertile eastern vineyards can be rather ordinary and consequently far less expensive.

Conversely, my Morgon and Fleurie estate vineyards are perched high on the westernmost hills with grades of 20% to over 40%, in gritty granite, so we don't need a Peloton for an ass-kicking workout. Worked manually, vine by vine, and at 10,000 vines per hectare in granite soils, this is a challenging and expensive endeavor. But sturdy French plough horses seem oblivious as they carefully navigate the tight spacing, steep rows, and rough granitic soils. And their organic “by-products” are welcome additions to our natural soil biomes.

Planted at about 10,000 vines/hectare, the vineyard density in Morgon and Fleurie is about 2.5x that of Sonoma County. Looking historic with their gnarled, twisted arms, and at over 70 years-old they were planted in 1953 when President Eisenhower (USA) and Auriol (France) were in office. Gamay vines are usually head-pruned "en gobelet" (looks like a gobelet) very low to the ground. They are a backbreaker to prune and to harvest and the yields are tiny. Regardless, these majestic old vines could remain productive for several more decades.

Natural, Organic Farming

My Morgon and Fleurie "Cru" vineyards are certified as "transitioning to organic" which is a three-year process. Without toxic herbicides/fungicides and with very steep slopes I work my vineyards naturally – by hand - and more frequently. Natural, organic farming costs about 25% more than "commercial" farming and my yields are lower because the vines aren't jacked up with artificial chemicals. My decision to farm organically costs me more per hectare – and I get fewer grapes...hmmm. But it's the right thing to do to make my terroir-driven wines.

Our "bug hotels" enhance ecological diversity in my organic vineyards

My Fleurie "Fonfotin" vineyard was established in the 1800's by Joseph et Josephine Dury Dargaud (pictured above in the 1930's), and recently run by their maternal great-granddaughter Collette Dubost Pignol and daughters.

The Pignol family leased it to the owners of the highly-regarded local pépinière (vine nursery), local experts in vine physiology, traits, natural propagation and more. All the best natural wine and other thoughtful local producers coveted their unique, historic "massale" vine cuttings.

Selection Massale is a hands-on, laborious, multi-year process and is virtually unknown in California, which mostly uses clonal propagation. Over two growing seasons the best buds are selected from the best vines in the best vineyards, propagated naturally, and then these diverse selections are re-planted. This "Selection Massale" method naturally preserves intra-varietal diversity. Think of it as a seed bank repository, but for the very best, natural, living grapevine budwood. Or think of it like heritage vegetable seeds instead of Monsanto's GMO seeds.

Meticulously selected, this historic vine material was planted in my steep Fleurie "Fonfotin" site seven decades ago. I’m lucky to be able to shepherd this vineyard over the coming years.

Vineyards curated by "Selection Massale" are the epitomy of "natural". The epitome of terroir. Yes, the vines tend to look a bit less uniform, and yes, yields are far lower. But the natural genetic diversity in my steep Fleurie vineyard, in addition to certified organic farming, adds unrivaled complexity to the wine in the glass. A true gem, what is in the glass is a historic treasure of what used to be - and is extremely rare. Savor my Fleurie "Fonfotin", please, there is very, very little of it.

What does "Cru" mean in Morgon and Fleurie?

The word "cru" in French translates to "growth" - a strictly defined area that has been recognized by France's governing body Institut National des Appellation d'Origine (INAO) for its unique and high-quality grapes and wines. The region has only ten "cru" and here it is more similar to Champagnes vineyards than those in Bordeaux.