Domaine Partagé
Domaine Partagé
+ History
Gilles Berlioz inherited a small family farm and vineyard in 1990. In the beginning, he worked in landscaping and managed the vineyard in his spare time. Over the next decade he grew the vineyard to 7HA and dedicated his life full time to wine. In the late 1990's Gilles began to embrace organic farming. After converting completely to organic, he decided the domaine was too big to farm and manage properly, so he sold off some of the vines. Today he is certifid biodynamic and has renamed the entity to Domaine Partagé - reflecting that it is a shared process between he, his wife Christine, his workers, the land, etc. From an outide perspective (ours), it appears that Gilles and Christine have moved steadily in the direction of true sustainability in all aspects of the domaine. The farming, the winemaking, the business relationships, the community relationships, etc. This is something we admire greatly. Our partnership with Gilles and Christine is new, so we are still getting to know them, but they both are clearly very in-tune with nature. Our stroll through the vineyards was peaceful and informative and moved at the pace of nature. Some vignerons appear at home in the cellar, pulling samples from barrels and pouring tastes for us. Gilles and Christine were obviously more comfortable and happy among the vines. This is something else we admire greatly.
Domaine Partagé ‘Le Jaja’ Vin de Savoie
+ Wine Story
This is a perfect entry to the wines of Gilles Berlioz. It is the easist to fall for. It is the least unusual, but far from ordinary. More texture than one would normally find in wines made from Jacquère and also more length and depth. It's easy to drink the whole bottle before you realize just how impressive this wine is.
+ Technical Details
VARIETIES: 100% Jacquère
VINEYARDS: 37 year old estate vineyards, lieu diet Les Frettes. Silt and alluvial clay over limestone soils. 400 meters elevation, 50% grade. Southeast aspect.
FARMING: Certified Biodynamic. Nearly all farming done by hand or horse.
WINEMAKING: Fermentation occurs in fiberglass eggs lying on their sides, 'as they do in nature'. Gilles believes they have better energy transfer in this position. No batonnage, no racking until the wine is finished. No fining, no filtering. Minimal SO2.
Domaine Partagé ‘El Hem’ Roussette de Savoie
+ Wine Story
This cuvée is famously named for a Moroccan lawyer who helped Gilles out of bind free of charge. Solid renumeration I would say. It's fun to drink this next to the JaJa. Generall more rich and less fruity. More on the floral, mineral, herbal tones with really focused acidity. But coming from similar terroir and there is a kinship for sure.
+ Technical Details
VARIETIES: 100% Altesse
VINEYARDS: 15 year old estate vineyards lieu diet Les Crays and Les Frettes. Loam/Limestone soils. 400 meters elevation, 50% grade. Southeast aspect. 7000 vines/HA.
FARMING: Certified Biodynamic. Nearly all farming done by hand or horse.
WINEMAKING: Fermentation occurs in fiberglass eggs lying on their sides, 'as they do in nature'. Gilles believes they have better energy transfer in this position. No batonnage, no racking until the wine is finished. No fining, no filtering. Minimal SO2.
Domaine Partagé ‘Les Fripons’ Chignin Bergeron
+ Wine Story
From the rockier section of the lieu diet Les Châteaux. Rich, exotic and very long yet still fresh and bright.
+ Technical Details
VARIETIES: 100% Roussanne
VINEYARDS: 26 year old estate vineyards, lieu diet Les Châteaux. Clay/Limestone soils over limestone bedrock. South East facing. 7000 vines/HA
FARMING: Certified Biodynamic. Nearly all farming done by hand or horse.
WINEMAKING: Fermentation occurs in fiberglass eggs lying on their sides, 'as they do in nature'. Gilles believes they have better energy transfer in this position. No batonnage, no racking until the wine is finished. Minimal SO2.
Domaine Partagé ‘Les Friponnes’ Chignin Bergeron
+ Wine Story
This is a new cuvée started in 2015. It is a new parcel, adjacent to Fripons, that will one day be part of Fripons. But the farming was conventional when they acquired the parcel, so while they are training the vines to accept the new form of agriculture, biodynamics, they are making a seperate wine. Similar to the Fripons in richness with beeswax, honeysuckle, loads of flowers, but more acidity. Picked a little earlier perhaps?
+ Technical Details
VARIETIES: 100% Roussanne
VINEYARDS: 25 year old estate vineyards, lieu diet Les Châteaux. Clay/Limestone soils over limestone bedrock. South East facing. 7000 vines/HA
FARMING: Biodynamic. Nearly all farming done by hand or horse.
WINEMAKING: Fermentation occurs in fiberglass eggs lying on their sides, 'as they do in nature'. Gilles believes they have better energy transfer in this position. No batonnage, no racking until the wine is finished. Minimal SO2.
Domaine Partagé ‘Les Filles’ Chignin Bergeron
+ Wine Story
Perhaps the richest wine of the bunch. There are 4 g/L RS in the 2018, so it's rich and a touch off dry. There is plenty of stuffing in the wine to carry the sweetness, and it adds a serious layer of complexity. A unique wine that goes on and on.
+ Technical Details
VARIETIES: 100% Roussanne
VINEYARDS: 22 year old estate vineyards, lieu diet Les Châteaux. Clay/Limestone soils with a high percentage of clay. South facing. 7000 vines/HA
FARMING: Certified Biodynamic. Nearly all farming done by hand or horse.
WINEMAKING: Fermentation occurs in fiberglass eggs lying on their sides, 'as they do in nature'. Gilles believes they have better energy transfer in this position. No batonnage, no racking until the wine is finished. Minimal SO2.
Domaine Partagé ‘La… Deuse…’ Vin de Savoie
+ Wine Story
This is a crazy wine. 10.5% alcohol. Just ripe with huge complexity. It has floral notes and herbal notes and iron notes and mineral notes and yes, some fruit. Super cool structure with tannins definitely present but acid playing lead fiddle. Surprisingly easy to drink (due to such low OH I suppose) but so much going on too.
+ Technical Details
VARIETIES: 85% Mondeuse, 15% Persan
VINEYARDS: .85HA estate vineyard, lieu diet Bordiot. 7000 vines/HA. 400 meters elevation, steep hillside.
FARMING: Certified Biodynamic. Nearly all farming done by hand or horse.
WINEMAKING: Whole cluser, partial carbonic. Fermentation in steel and aging in fiberglass eggs lying on their sides, 'as they do in nature'. Gilles believes they have better energy transfer in this position. No batonnage, no racking until the wine is finished. Minimal SO2.