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Château Pontet-Canet has been making wines in the historic commune of Pauillac for three centuries. Their wines have earned Grand Cru Classé status (the highest-ranking in the Bordeaux Classification system of 1885) and are known around the world for their energy and precision. Early pioneers of organic winemaking in the Bordeaux region, they first converted to biodynamics in 2004 with the aim of improving the quality of their Merlot plantings and, after a successful trial of 14 hectares, the entire vineyard was converted the following year.
Biodynamic wines are made by following a farming philosophy set out in a series of lectures by Rhudolf Steiner in the 1920s. Steiner taught that by going a few steps further than organic (harvesting according to lunar cycle, and using natural fertilizers buried in the soil inside cow horns, among other practices), winemakers would be able to see vast improvement in their vineyards and wines. To be certified organic by organisations such as Biovin, HVE3, ECOCERT or Demeter, wineries need to have been farming without the use of herbicides and pesticides for at least three years.
By 2010, Pontet-Canet’s wines were awarded their organic and biodynamic certification as well as given 100 points by the wine critic Robert Parker. They had become the first Médoc Grand Cru Classé estate to hold a double certification for the whole of its vineyard and started a trend that would change Bordeaux’s winemaking landscape forever.
“We decided to convert in 2004 because we noticed that the biodynamic wines weremore brilliant, more tense and had more energy,” says Château Pontet-Canet’s owner Alfred Tesseron. “The biodynamic philosophy reveals the purity offruit and the complexity and potential of the terroir, and it also has the added benefit of preserving the vineyard for future generations.”
Farming organically or biodynamically is neither simple nor easy in the wettest region in France. Rain is common in Spring and warm temperatures combined with wet weather increases the chance of mildew in the vineyard. Mildew is a big problem for vines as it causes rot, and the most successful way to combat mildew is with chemical sprays. Historically, after the Second World War, farmers in France were instructed by the government to produce more using less workers – herbicides and pesticides were what allowed them to do this.
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According to the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB), today just 20% of Bordeaux of vineyards are being run organically, but this figure is rising. “From 2018 to 2020, the number of organic vineyards in Bordeaux more than doubled,” says Éloi Jacob, directeur général of Château Fourcas Hosten, an estate located in the Listrac-Médoc. “This is a huge evolution in Bordeaux, and I think (that number will increase) even more in 2023.” In 2021, the CIVB reported that 1500 out of approximately 6000 vineyards had achieved HVE sustainability certification in 2021 (HVE is the three-tiered system introduced by the French Ministry of Agriculture in 2001, that encourages growers to focus on increasing biodiversity and decreasing the negative environmental impact of their production).
“It is certainly not easy to be organic in Bordeaux,” says Marie-Laure Latorre, director at Château Jean Faure, a Grand Cru Classé estate founded in the 16th century in Saint-Emilion. They released their first certified organic vintage in 2017 after taking three years to convert their 18 hectares and hope to be certified by Biovin in 2023. “It has been said that Bordeaux is one of the worst in the world for going organic. However, since going organic we have noticed more diversity in the vineyard. First, we had better soil life (earthworm, fungus), then more birds, bats, and hares. We recreated a food chain. We have a pond and a wood and hedges; all the ingredients to maintain a balance between viticulture and wildlife.” But being organic comes at a cost, says Latorre.
Despite this, Bordeaux’s winemakers think that it’s worth the extra effort and expense. “We are ok to lose some production because we are convinced that this way of farming is better for the vines, for the quality of our wines, for our health and for the planet,” says Latorre. “Today, after 19 years without herbicides, the vineyard is more resistant to disease and drought, we have better maturity from our vines and the roots can explore all the layers of the soil which, ultimately, leads to more complexity in the wine.”
Back at Pontet-Canet, almost 20 years of organic farming means that they can be even more experimental. They have been able to abandon vine canopy trimming in favour of a manual interweaving of long leaf shoots which enables the vines to self-regulate. They have also replaced heavy duty machinery with workhorses which avoid compacting the soil and helps to protect the old vines, while wildflowers are encouraged to grow between the rows to attract bees and other insects which are natural predators for leaf-attacking pests.
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At Château de la Dauphine in Libourne, 200 resident sheep not only keep the lawns uniformly mown, but turn the topsoil in the same way a rotary tracker might, while also providing natural fertilizers. “This started as an experiment,” says Lisa Sauniere of the Château. “It worked so well that we will continue every autumn. The sheep come from the Aspe Valley and need grazing during autumn and winter. We don’t use chemicals so we can offer 100% natural and organic grass to our grazing residents.”
Sauniere is quick to clarify that going organic is not a trend-led decision. “We aren’t organic and biodynamic just to push up our sales,” she says. “Organic and biodynamic are philosophies and ways of farming that we truly believe are better for the land. If our sales (do) increase, it is linked to the quality of the wine, notoriety of the brand and the work of our team.” The other winemakers chime with this same philosophy: that organic is here for the long term. “We have noticed that our consumers are more interested in organic wines and our negociants have bought more from us since the winery went organic,” says Éloi Jacob. “Going organic is not a trend, but a new and better way of life.”
Château Pontet-Canet has been making wines in the historic commune of Pauillac for three centuries. Their wines have earned Grand Cru Classé status (the highest ranking in the Bordeaux Classification system of 1885) and are known around the world for their energy and precision. Early pioneers of organic winemaking in the Bordeaux region, they first converted to biodynamics in 2004 with the aim of improving the quality of their Merlot plantings and, after a successful trial of 14 hectares, the entire vineyard was converted the following year. “We decided to convert in 2004 because we noticed that the biodynamic wines were more brilliant, more tense and had more energy,” says Château Pontet-Canet’s owner Alfred Tesseron. “The biodynamic philosophy reveals the purity of fruit and the complexity and potential of the terroir, and it also has the added benefit of preserving the vineyard for future generations.”
