After presenting our red grape varieties, let’s move on to the white grape varieties used for the 2021 cuvées.
Grenache Gris: Single-varietal Grenache Gris cuvées are rare on the market, yet this is the choice we made for our Insolente Grenache. We love this grape variety for its roundness, minerality and long finish. And also because it surprises us with its aromas of fennel, aniseed, almond and notes of honey or caramel.
Grenache Blanc: a source of full-bodied, powerful, warm wines, Grenache Blanc (“White Grenache”) transports us into an aromatic universe quite different from its cousin Gris. It is more reminiscent of green apple, pear and melon, with pleasant floral and dill notes. Best known for making vins doux naturels, it also makes very interesting dry wines.
Vermentino: combined with Grenache Blanc in our Cuvée Fusion Blanche, this Italian grape adds lightness and freshness. Also known as “rolle”, it is regularly found in Corsican vineyards and on the coast of Provence. It has fine, elegant aromas of white flowers, grapefruit, pear and green almond.
Our winemaker Clodéric Prade cultivates all these grape varieties with respect for the environment. Thanks to agroforestry and organic farming practices, they perfectly express their natural qualities and terroirs.
Other white grape varieties have already been planted for future vintages. These include Roussanne, Picpoul, Maccabeu… with more to come! Eventually, our surface area of white grape varieties will exceed that of reds. We’ll be sure to tell you more!
DIVINEO is an alchemy of regions and talents, but also of grape varieties. Our Languedoc parcel is home to a wide range of grape varieties, from the most classic to the most original! This enables us to create unique blends, making the most of the qualities of each one. Today, we take a look at the red grape varieties used for the 2021 vintage.
Syrah: a grape variety of prime importance for our first vintage, since it gives its name to two of our cuvées: Syrah Sauvage and Syrah de Robiac. An emblematic grape variety of the Rhône Valley, Syrah has spread internationally. It is known for producing full-bodied, colorful wines, with aromas of red and black fruits, violets and peppery notes.
Grenache Noir: this typically Mediterranean grape variety, originally from Spain, is of course the king of our Grenache Vieilles Vignes. It grows on vigorous, upright vines, and seduces with its power and roundness. Aromas include black fruit, coffee and spicy notes of garrigue.
Cinsault: The companion of Syrah in our Syrah Sauvage cuvée, Cinsault adds suppleness and lightness. Of Provençal origin and also a table grape, it can be recognized by its large bunches and large berries. We love its aromas of red fruit (redcurrant, raspberry…), dried fruit (hazelnut, almond…) and floral notes.
These southern grape varieties, cultivated by our winemaker Clodéric Prade, are then vinified in Burgundy cellars and aged in barrels. This gives them a very different style from purely Languedoc wines, and excellent ageing potential.
See you next week to discover our white grape varieties!
At the Affranchis Club event on March 18, we had the opportunity to welcome some fifteen representatives from the Burgundy School of Business, members of the BSB Alumni network or from the administration. They joined Club members to discover the DIVINEO vintages and spirit. It is no coincidence, since the Dijon business school has been associated with the project since its inception.
BSB and DIVINEO share common values: a spirit of innovation and ambition to break new ground, and a desire to implement meaningful, environmentally-friendly projects. Combined with the school’s academic reputation, particularly in the wine sector, this partnership is a valuable support.
It takes the form of working groups with students from the School of Wine & Spirits Business. We already did this last year, and have repeated the experience this year with new students. They are contributing to the activation of the Affranchis Wine Club or the creation of our e-commerce site, for example. Other BSB students will soon be joining us to think about financial issues.
Working with future industry players gives us a fresh, innovative perspective on our projects. What’s more, these working groups give rise to new ideas and aspirations. The aim is also to enable BSB students to practice on subjects that correspond to their own career plans.
In fact, our Managing Director Gauthier Girardon was himself part of the group of BSB students who worked for DIVINEO last year! DIVINEO is first and foremost a human adventure, made up of encounters, and this project is a fine example of this.
Our partnership with the BSB will continue and develop in the years to come, with new working groups. We can’t wait to see what great things come out of it!
Photos: Burgundy School of Business
Saturday March 18 was a special day for the Affranchis Wine Club. It was the day of their first event of 2023! This day in Burgundy was particularly rich in encounters, discoveries and pleasure. So let us tell you all about it…
No fewer than 70 participants – founders, Ambassadors, Friends of the Club and members of the BSB Alumni network – gathered in Beaune for the first part of the event day. In teams, they first embarked on a rally through the town. Thanks to this activity, they were able to discover its emblematic places. All the while, they put their sense of observation and creativity to the test!
Then it was off to Chambolle-Musigny, to the cellar of Domaine Boursot Père et Fils, which will be joining the DIVINEO adventure from the 2023 vintage. The Boursot family and our winemakers Seiichi Saito Wang, Gabin and Thibaut Perrault, hosted a blind tasting of the highest calibre!
Participants had to identify 7 wines, including DIVINEO cuvées and wines from our winemakers. It was a challenging exercise for our teams! But the friendly, typically Burgundian atmosphere soon made them forget…
Finally, the event came to a close at the Château de Gilly, where the prizes were awarded to the winning teams. The 90 guests then enjoyed a convivial dinner accompanied by DIVINEO wines.
We’re delighted to have brought participants together around the values of DIVINEO, and to have been able to introduce the project to some graduates of the Burgundy School of Business, one of our privileged partners.
Many thanks to the participants and to everyone who helped organize this event! We can’t wait for the next one…
Photos: Julia Pion
In February, the vines are in their winter resting phase. To survive the cold, the plant saves as much energy as possible… but this is not the case for winegrowers.
Winter is a decisive period for the coming vintage, during which the vines must be maintained and prepared. One of the most important tasks is pruning. The vine shoots are cut to regulate development and reduce the number of buds. The aim is to obtain bigger, juicier, richer bunches. In short, bunches that will produce quality wine!
In the Languedoc region, our winemaker Clodéric Prade opts for simple Guyot pruning. This means keeping a long wood with generally 5 to 8 buds, as well as a spur with 2 buds.
Clodéric uses the shredded wood to make a “mulch“. In other words, a layer spread over the soil to protect it and bring it back to life. And rich, high-quality soil is good not only for the vines, but for the ecosystem as a whole!
As part of his agroforestry approach, Clodéric also takes advantage of winter to tend to the edges of his plots. This helps preserve biodiversity and combat the effects of global warming.
Pruning is already complete for certain grape varieties. In a few weeks’ time, as spring approaches, the vines will resume their vegetative cycle with the appearance of buds. Stay tuned!
Photo : © Manuel Ribeiro – 123RF
Over the past two weeks, you’ve become better acquainted with the winemakers behind our 2021 cuvées. But the DIVINEO adventure doesn’t stop there. New winemakers will be joining us for the coming vintages, and will also be expressing their know-how and creativity in our wines. Such is the case with Nicolas Perrault and his sons Gabin and Thibault, whom we meet today.
The Perrault family have been winemakers for several generations. In 2012, Nicolas took over 4 hectares of vines from the estate created by his grandfather in the 1940s. From these, he created an estate in his own name. These vines are located in the south of the Côte de Beaune, more precisely in the Maranges Premier Cru and Santenay appellations.
Nicolas has chosen a viticulture that respects the environment. This translates into biodynamic practices and manual harvesting. In his winery in Dezize-les-Maranges (a beautiful 15th-century building), he hand-selects the best bunches and often keeps the whole harvest. His vinifications are meticulous and tailor-made, to bring out the best of the terroir vintage after vintage. The result is generous, full-bodied, elegant red wines with a great aging potential.
Nicolas passes on his knowledge to his two sons (Thibault on the left, Gabin on the right), who work with him in both vineyard and cellar. So it’s as a family that they join us, to work on a new DIVINEO cuvée from the 2022 vintage, “Éclipse Blanche“. A particularly original cuvée, since it’s a white wine made from black grapes… We can’t wait to tell you more!
On Saturday March 18th, the members of the Affranchis Wine Club will gather at the heart of Burgundy for the first 2023 event ! They will be joined by members of the alumni network of the Burgundy School of Business (BSB), one of the key partners in the DIVINEO adventure.
This event is a logical follow-up to the one held in September in Saint-Mamert-du-Gard. There, the Affranchis were able to discover the unspoilt valley that is home to our vines. Our winegrower Clodéric introduced them to the notions of terroir and agroforestry, all in a friendly, good-humored atmosphere. So it was only natural to follow the DIVINEO wines’ route, by going to Burgundy, where the magic of winemaking takes place.
The day will start in Beaune, with a team rally that will take participants along the Burgundy taste trail. Then, the Affranchis will then head to Domaine Boursot in Chambolle-Musigny. The Boursot family, who are joining our group of winemakers for future vintages, will guide them through their vineyards. An opportunity to discover the secrets of this mythical wine-growing region, where our cuvées are produced. A blind tasting with DIVINEO wines and our winemakers’ own wines will also test our participants’ senses and knowledge. Finally, the event will come to a close at Château de Gilly for a true Burgundian dinner. There, the winning rally team will be rewarded !
In short: a day of discoveries off the beaten track, in the style of the Affranchis! A total of 80 people will take part in this event, which is sure to be a great way to meet new people.
After introducing you to Julien Petitjean , it’s time to meet the second winemaker to work on the DIVINEO 2021 vintage: Seiichi Saito Wang.
Seiichi’s passion for wine began when he was 22. He left Japan, where he had grown up, and perfected his viticulture and vinification techniques at various Burgundy estates. He then opened a restaurant in Beaune, but his wine-making aspirations never left him. Seiichi finally took the plunge in 2016, buying his own vineyards in Chorey-les-Beaune. Domaine Petit-Roy was born, with its 4.5 hectares of biodynamic vines.
Seiichi explains, “I started making wine, but I didn’t have any precise ideas.” So he makes his wines with a great deal of instinct and precision. He favors whole harvests, does not use new barrels to keep the tannins supple, and limits the addition of sulfites. The result: elegant, fine and, of course, natural wines.
These characteristics are reflected in the Grenache Vieilles Vignes cuvée he vinifies for DIVINEO. Seiichi gives time to the grapes grown by Clodéric Prade in the Languedoc region, with an 18-month ageing period. This brings lightness to a grape known for its power, and reflects Seiichi’s philosophy.
For him, old vines “are treasures”, and there’s no doubt that he knows how to sublimate them perfectly!
To find out more, visit the “Wines” page.
DIVINEO, four-hands creations
Today, we’re off to Burgundy, and more specifically Nolay, to meet one of our winemakers: Julien Petitjean.
After several years’ experience in the vineyards, Julien finally set up his own business in 2012. He heads up Domaine de la Roseraie, a 3-hectare estate on the Côte de Beaune. Here, he makes his wines with passion and as a family, with the greatest respect for tradition and biodiversity.
In the vineyards, he works with biodynamics, in harmony with nature, to which he gives a central role. In fact, he gives nature time to do its work, preserves its balance and opts for minimalist techniques. By using neither synthetic pesticides nor chemical fertilizers, he allows the terroirs to express themselves fully.
Then, in the cellar, Julien simplifies his vinifications as much as possible. He uses short macerations and semi-carbonic infusions, and abolishes crushing, punching down and pumping over. He also chooses indigenous yeasts and eliminates or reduces to the strict minimum the dosage of sulfites.
For Julien, it’s ancestral methods that will make the wines of the future. As he himself says: “I preferred to learn the winegrowing trade from old men on the verge of retirement. I opted for knowledge, not know-how.
The values of freedom and simplicity that drive him are evident in the 4 cuvées he has created for DIVINEO’s 2021 vintage. Julien Petitjean’s winemaking in Burgundy, combined with Clodéric Prade’s viticulture in the Languedoc, has given birth to Fusion Blanche, Insolente Grenache, Syrah Sauvage and Syrah de Robiac.
Wines full of energy and freshness: to find out more, visit the “Wines” page now!
DIVINEO, four-hands creations
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