A Visit to Château Haut-Bages-Libéral, 2024
Mention biodynamics in the context of Bordeaux and a short list – probably a very short list – of names will come to mind. While many properties in this region are dabbling in organic and biodynamic methods, and a few others have quietly certified with no fanfare, the number of true long-term adherents – those châteaux which already have a decade or more of biodynamics behind them – can be counted using the fingers of one hand.
Château Pontet-Canet comes to mind first, the first sections of the vineyard having been turned over to biodynamics by proprietor Alfred Tesseron and the then technical director Jean-Michel Comme in 2004, a full twenty years ago now. The entire vineyard was biodynamic in 2005, and although they reverted to synthetic sprays in the rotten 2007 vintage, they went straight back to biodynamics in 2008 and have never wavered since.
Another property which immediately springs to mind is Château Palmer, even though this château was moved into biodynamics rather more recently than its counterpart in Pauillac. The shift here, led by technical director Thomas Duroux, came in the 2014 vintage, ten years ago now, with certification in 2017.
And of course, looking to the far side of the city of Bordeaux, there is Château Climens, which slots in rather neatly between the two. Here Bérénice Lurton – who has since sold the property – undertook a full-scale conversion to biodynamic viticulture in 2010. She completed this work with help from consultant Corinne Comme, who was married to Jean-Michel Comme, the aforementioned biodynamic guru resident at Château Pontet-Canet until his surprise retirement just a couple of years ago.
By closing the loop in this manner I don’t mean to imply this is the entire story of biodynamics in Bordeaux. There are numerous other properties which are relevant to this tale; many of them have followed the example of these trail blazers, although a few frequently overlooked proprietors were years (in some cases decades) ahead of them. Among others the achievements of Véronique Cochran (the daughter of renowned biodynamicist François Bouchet) at Château Falfas, which was certified biodynamic by Demeter in 1989, should not be dismissed.
