Waking a sleeping beauty

Food / Travel

A dedicated duo are bringing a slumbering vineyard gently back to life by improving the habitat for birds, butterflies, bees and rare bats, in the certain knowledge that a healthy ecosystem produces better wine. They hope it will become a blueprint for the future.

Jessica Julmy is standing on the large, marble-tiled terrace of the Château Galoupet winery as the mistral plays impetuously with her shoulder-length blonde hair. The green hills of the Île du Levant stand out on the southeastern horizon, with Port-Cros to the right and Porquerolles to the southwest. “We benefit here from a microclimate that refreshes the vines with temperate and salty winds,” says Julmy as she regains a piece of a dark blue jacquard woollen shawl wrapped around her shoulders.

Château Galoupet was founded in the 18th century and has produced elegant rosés de provence in the past. But since managing director Julmy took over the winery in 2019 with the agronomist Mathieu Meyer, there is a new spirit in the terroir. “The 14 owners of the past centuries gave Château Galoupet varying amounts of love,” says US-born Julmy, who was previously commercial manager at Krug Champagne for six years. “During the last phase there was a little less of it. We found a sleeping beauty – an exceptional terrain with different soils,” she says, explaining how the 69 hectares of vines produce wine that meets the standards of the fêted Cru Classés classification, a label held by just 17 other terroirs in the region, and which shows that the wine pressed here comes exclusively from their own grapes.

We leave the single storey administration building and walk to a plot 200 metres away. Here, dozens of rows of gnarled vines have been kissed awake by the more intense sun in recent weeks and daisies stretch their necks in between. “This is a tibouren; these vines were planted in 1969,” says Meyer, who explains how, on average, the vines of the château are 25 years old, which guarantees wine with character and structure. “Tibouren is a rare grape that originated in Greece but is now found almost exclusively in Provence,” he adds. “Their thin-skinned fruit with firm, juicy flesh is ideal for making rosé. However, their cultivation is complicated. That’s why only 450 hectares are still planted with tibouren in Provence, barely 2 per cent of the vineyards.”

In cool, damp weather, the variety is susceptible to disease. But here at Château Galoupet, the wind provides natural ventilation. “The winds that blow between the Massif des Maures and the Golden Islands give us special  conditions,” says Meyer, whose knowledge of agronomy was handed down from his father. “From the north the mistral makes itself felt and from the south a sea breeze always blows. But both are weakened – by the mountains behind us and by the group of islands off the coast. The winds clean the soil and prevent disease. They are therefore ideal for organic viticulture and lay the foundation for the diversity of aromas.” We continue up a dirt road on a slope that is overgrown with a thicket of rosemary, lavender and eucalyptus as Julmy and Meyer explain how they plan to plant more tibouren plots over the next decade to give this rare varietal a boost. “At the moment, tibouren accounts for 15 per cent of the blend; it varies from blend to blend,” says Meyer, who has experience working in wineries in Africa and Australia.

This ambition is complicated by the fact that Château Galoupet rests on complex terrain. “Three hundred million years of natural history characterise this land and we are dealing with countless layers of metamorphic rock,” says Meyer, picking up a slate stone and demonstrating with one hand how easily it breaks. “Here, the soil changes within the terroir. We have ochre-brown slate sandstone, cream-coloured quartz phyllite and gravel. These ‘microterroirs’ need tailor-made care, depending on their location.”

Château Galoupet has existed at its current size since the mid-18th century and also includes 77 hectares of protected forest. Holm oaks, umbrella pines and wild herbs provide homes for rare bats, birds and the endangered Hermann’s tortoise. “When we came here for the first time in July 2019, we became aware of our responsibility for the local flora and fauna – and of  the opportunities that this special vineyard holds,” says Julmy as we pass a natural water basin in a small valley. Bringing forest and wine into harmony is what she and Meyer have seen as their mission ever since. In August 2020 they began to discuss converting the farm to organic viticulture and soon set to work. “We combined organic viticulture and agroecology with traditional farming knowledge,” says Meyer as we continue our walk through the barely tamed wilderness. “Our work starts with the soil. We practise green manuring and agroforestry. We sow mustard, rye and peas between the vines to enrich the soil, protect it from erosion and increase its permeability. These ‘cover crops’ bring nutrients, microorganisms, insects – life.” As though on cue, a yellow-and-black swallowtail butterfly flutters up the wooded slope and accompanies us part of the way up the hill.

Planting more vegetation, including cormier trees and oaks, is also part of the plan. “They will return to the vineyard, to attract birds that feed on their fruit instead of our grapes and to attract bats that eat the species of moths that can be harmful to the vines,” says Meyer. About 12 bat species have been identified here, some of which are among the rarest in Europe. The estate is a resting area for migratory birds and the habitat of hundreds of insect and reptile species. “Thanks to accurate inventories, we can take measures to support this wildlife and keep a better eye on the effect of our work,” says Meyer. Of course, there is no sustainable ecosystem without bees. “Together with the Observatoire Français D’Apidologie [OFA], we are setting up a fertilisation station for queen bees alongside new hives, so we can closely observe how an ever-healthier chain of life works,” adds Julmy,  as we  walk up another steep stretch of gravel path lined with larger chunks of quartz phyllite.

The partnership with OFA began in 2019 with the installation of 200 hives in the protected forest area. The results were so promising that the management duo decided to set up a brood centre for the future queens, making Château Galoupet one of only 12 specialised fertilisation centres for queen bees in the world. “Research demonstrates that native plants and pollinators such as bees, bats and butterflies help to maintain the balance of fragile  ecosystems,” says Julmy, pointing to a plot planted with Grenache vines to our right. “It shows how healthy ecosystems support the production of more complex, higher-quality wines.” We reach the highest point of the dirt  road and look down into a wooded valley where there are several dozen beehives. Meyer tells us how happy he is that the project has, so far, succeeded – both for the biodiversity of the region and for the quality of the wine.  “Restoring the interaction between forest and vineyards is essential for promoting biodiversity and obtaining healthy vines,” he says, as we begin to descend the path back to the ochre-coloured cluster of buildings. “This work will restore Château Galoupet to a completely natural state.”

The fact that their commitment is leading their employer, luxury group LVMH (which bought the estate in 2019), to new shores is something Julmy is pleased about. Château Galoupet will produce a Cru Classé de Provence for the group. (It was LVMH’s first rosé wine, though it has since acquired 55 per cent of another rosé-producing estate in Provence, Château d’Esclans.) Julmy’s pioneering work at this historical vineyard clearly inspires her. “Château Galoupet could become a blueprint for other wineries within the group,” she says. “Luxury will be redefined in the future.”

As we arrive back at the pavilion, the sun has sunk behind Porquerolles and a warm light bathes the terrace as we sit down and sip the first vintage of the 2021 Château Galoupet Cru Classé, the result of the work of the past three years. The aroma – marked by minerality and creaminess, grapefruit peel and peach notes and a fine, salty finish – is mingled with the sea breeze, in turn tinged with rosemary and eucalyptus. It’s a complex and nuanced taste that speaks of the geology, geography and ecology of this unique part of  France, which has been defined by the fragrant breezes that filter through the vines. It seems that the wind always has something to say at Château Galoupet.

Konfekt,
Juli 2022