Domaine Partage "Les Filles" Chignin-Bergeron, Savoie, France 2022

FROM LIVING VINE

THE WINE: Bergeron is the local strain of the roussanne grape; it gives a dense, concentrated wine with apricot/peach fruit showing more dynamism and natural acidity than you usually find in the northern Rhône (roussanne’s heartland). Vinified and aged as per the other whites at the domaine, the cuvée Les Filles is a tribute to the many women involved in Domaine Paratagé. Harvested in various sorties when only the ripest bunches are selected, Les Filles comes from a south-facing plot with a deeper topsoil (as opposed to Les Fripons). Deep and textural, this wine will age gracefully for many years. For drinking now to 2030+.

THE PRODUCER: Gilles Berlioz has an unconventional background for a (now iconic) grower. He wanted to live a rural life and first tried cultivating flowers, then breeding vines, but couldn’t make a living, so instead worked as a builder. After losing two fingers in an accident he recovered in his hometown of Chignin and (surrounded by his family's vines) decided to give winemaking a try.

Settling down in Chignin with his wife Christine in 1990, he gradually built up his holdings to 8ha of primarily rented vines 'en fermage' (5ha) whilst working as a landscaper.

Increasingly unhappy with using chemicals in their vineyards and with the compaction caused by too much tractor use, Gilles and Christine embraced organic practices in the late 1990s, with certification following in 2002. It was at this point that Gilles became obsessed with making top-class wines – he moved towards biodynamic viticulture and reduced the holdings to a more manageable 6ha, the other 2ha are rented to his cousin Adrien Berlioz and other young vignerons in the area.

A little like Cyril Fhal in Roussillon, Gilles and Christine look after the vines as though they were flowers in their back garden, all the vineyards are now fully worked by hand, sometimes helped by horses on steep slopes. During the busy spring and summer months, the couple is helped by a team of seven employees (for 6ha!).

In 2016 the Berlioz changed the name of the estate to Domaine Partagé translating as the 'shared domaine', reflecting the years of human encounters with workers, vignerons and customers, all of whom have helped the domaine to progress to where it is today: one of the most iconic in Savoie and France. Nowadays Domaine Partagé shares a harvest team with Pascal Quenard, Adrien Berlioz, and sell one-fourth of their grapes to young vignerons providing a helping hand as they start.

Read more about the producer.