Paris, a surprising new wine region
My friends just laughed at me when I said that I was visiting a vineyard and winery in the Île-de-France, the region around Paris. The Île-de-France has no reputation whatsoever in the mind of traditional wine buffs.
But traditions can change and some are simply misunderstood. For instance, historically the Île-de-France was France’s largest wine producer.
Before the industrial revolution over two hundred years ago, people consumed things produced in their local region – for the simple reason that modern transport did not exist. And since the Île-de-France had France’s biggest population, it also had the country’s biggest wine industry, even if its wines were not always of great quality.
France’s wine industry was then decimated by Phylloxera, and grape vines were not replaced in the Île-de-France, as precious land was taken over by building construction and other agricultural crops like rapeseed.
But the memory of the wine industry in the Île-de-France lingers on and some community associations, in partnership with local governments, have reestablished vineyards in memory of the industry’s past. The vineyards at Montmartre and Suresnes are two such examples.
A new trend is the establishment professional vineyards and wineries in the Île-de-France. One such case is that of Le Domaine La Bouche du Roi, in the little village of Davron, about 40 km to the west of Paris.
Le Domaine La Bouche du Roi was established by two young winemakers from Bordeaux, Julien Brustis and Adrien Pelissié. Their philosophy was to revive the ancient tradition of winemaking in the Île-de-France, but in a professional manner. Global warming is another factor pushing these winemakers north.
As my two guides, Clemence and Caroline, explained, these founders of Le Domaine La Bouche du Roi bought 27 hectares of land with nice clay/limestone soil. They planted six different grape varieties, with Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Merlot being the main ones, followed by Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Sauvignon Blanc.
The grape vines were planted from 2017 to 2020, with the first harvest in 2019. According to the resident oenologist, Remi (in photo with a bright blue jacket), the excellent 2022 vintage shows how good the wines from Le Domaine La Bouche du Roi can be.
At the tender age of 29, Remi is an oenologist with great experience, having previously worked in Australia’s McLaren Vale, Canada’s Cowichan Valley, and China’s Yunnan Province. Yunnan, situated close to Tibet and bordering Myanmar and Laos at an altitude of 2,000-3,000m, is proving itself to be a new jewel in the crown of Chinese viticulture.
In a France which still has mixed feelings about its growing migrant population, very few people appreciate how much the local economy depends on migrants. Thus, here at Le Domaine La Bouche du Roi they very happily welcome their team of Romanians who work from March to October, doing all the manual work from pruning to harvesting. In fact, the harvest is undertaken by hand, and the wines are produced organically.
As the academic side of my visit came to an end, it was time to do some tasting. Clemence and Caroline offered me detailed explanations of my tasting of virtually all the different grape varieties – Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Sauvignon Blanc.
Being a wine walker, I could only carry two bottles, so I bought a bottle each of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, my two favourites. But I must say that all the wines I tasted were excellent – light, fresh, and with a good balance of acid and fruit in the whites, and also a nice balance of fruit and tannin in the reds. In fact, Remi explained that the house style is more towards a lower alcohol, fresh wine, which he believes is in accord with modern tastes.
It is not at all surprising that the wines from Le Domaine La Bouche du Roi are doing well on the French market. I was told that they are sold at the Madame Brasserie restaurant on the Eiffel Tower, at Alain Ducasse restaurants, and by the Parisian wine merchant, Repaire de Bacchus, which has 40 shops in Paris and the Île-de-France.
But as Remi explained to me, people from the local area are also important customers, as they are proud to share a local wine with their friends.
My visit today to the Le Domaine La Bouche du Roi was a revelation of how France’s wine industry is changing, and how dynamic French business can be, despite the country’s curious attachment to socialism.
As the weather warms up, and the leaves and grapes appear on the vines, a return visit will be on the agenda.