A Visit to Domaine de la Noblaie, 2016: Viticulture
Jérôme Billard and I headed higher up into the vineyards, walking parallel to a low ridge of rock that separated the vines on the plateau, above on my right, to those running down the limestone slope, to my left. In the shelter of the rock there grew numerous wild plants and flowers, some really glamorous, bearing tall stems and vibrant orange and purple flowers. It reminded me to ask Jérôme about his work in the vineyard, and his philosophy when it came to choosing between biodynamic, organic or conventional methods.
“We work organically”, he replied, “using just the traditional organic treatments of copper and sulphate to treat vine diseases”.
Indeed, as we reached the top of the slope we stopped to look at some of the vines, the leaves still carrying a thin white dusting of wettable sulphur. Some leaves bore the small brown scars of mildew, now drying up in the much-improved weather, but pulling away some leaves Jérôme revealed the bunches which largely looked healthy. Only one displayed a trace of black rot, another malady Jérôme has had to contend with during the recent bad weather.
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