Domaine partagé Gilles Berlioz - Chignin Bergeron Les Fripons 2018

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

Gilles and Christine founded their estate in 1990. It grew steadily in the 1990s and was certified organic in 2002. A disciple of Michel Grisard, Gilles introduced biodynamic viticulture and obtained Demeter certification in 2018. The domaine is run like a cooperative, with everyone assigned to do a good job and make good wine. Four principles: no subsidies, soils worked with animal traction, everything done by hand, everyone well paid. Typically natural wines, more ethereal than ostentatious, with cuvées featuring emblematic labels.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the domain :

The son of a factory worker, Gilles Berlioz is a happy, self-taught winegrower. Trained as a landscaper, he started out in 1990 with 0.8 hectares in the Chignin area, helped by his partner Christine. Today, he has 6.5 hectares, ploughed by horse and converted to organic farming in 2005, then to biodynamic viticulture in 2020. Anthroposophy is at the heart of the estate. Gilles Berlioz must be the only winemaker in our guide who makes decisions in the vineyard or cellar with his employees, and who shares his workforce with two other estates... Hence the rather unique term "shared estate". Of the three children, Jeanne, the youngest, is about to take over the reins. From the simple Chignin to the Mondeuse, not forgetting the exceptional Chignin-Bergon vinified in parcel selections, all the wines offer expressions of striking depth of flavor. Aging is biblically simple, with no wood. Savvy connoisseurs are snapping up these goldsmith's wines, which are very limited in volume. A warm welcome at the domaine. An indispensable address that has shown the way for an entire region and a whole generation.