Originally from Mayenne, Franck settled in Paris. à Marseille in 2010. Afterwards After a career in IT, he decided to retrain in 2012. He then began a year of study at the Gardanne agricultural high school and some experience in areas of agriculture. region, he settled in 2014 by recovering vines at the Costebonne estate in Paris. Eygalières in the Alpilles.

THE VINES – DOMAIN OF COSTEBONNE - EYGALIÈRES:

The vines are in the commune of Eygalières (near St Rémy de Provence) and are located on a foothill of the Alpilles massif, the locality of Costebonne (the good hillside in Provenç al). Facing south, the plots are made up of limestone, marl and clay and rise in terraces to the forest massif covering the top of CosteBonne.

IN ORGANIC AGRICULTURE SINCE 1998:

The vines have been farmed organically since 1998, the date of the oldest plantations. After the discovery of a major outbreak of flavescence aureus in the area in 2013, numerous uprootings were carried out. carried out by the former owner and continued after the takeover until 2016. The estate then only included 2ha of vines which could be saved; These are Syrah vines planted in 1998 and constituting the Décrocher la Lune vintage. At the same time, Franck took over some vines in the town on short-term leases in order to make the « buffer » the time of replanting the estate. From 2016 to In 2018, around ten hectares were planted. replanted: Grenache, Cinsaut, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan for the reds Vermentino, Grenanche Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc for the whites The new plantations are carried out at the same time. base of mass selection either in graft-welded; (work with nurseryman Lilian Berillon) or grafted in the field (work with Marc Birebent's grafters). The grafting work is still in progress and will be finalized later. this year (Cinsaut and Syrah).

THE GROUND WORK IS DONE AT HORSE:

Till work is almost entirely carried out. carried out by horse. Two workers from the region take care of maintenance under the row (scavenging and hilling). The work on the row is carried out by tractor (treatments and sowing of green manure). All of the vines are grassed (half natural, half sown). The grass cover is laid down after flowering with Rolofaca (Editor's note: machine that lays the plant cover on the ground to stop the rise of sap) in order to provide material. ;organic soil and protect it from the sun while retaining humidity.

TREATMENTS: SULFUR, COPPER AND PLANT EXTRACTS:

Treatments (3 to 4 per year) are at the same time. base of copper (0.2 to 0.5 kg per year to fight against midliou), sulfur (against oïdium) and plant extracts (horsetail, nettle, comfrey, fern , kelp, yarrow) to strengthen the vine and reduce the supply of copper and sulfur.

TEAMWORK:

Franck is accompanied by of an employee à full-time, Erwan Picart, present from the start of the adventure. 3 to 4 seasonal workers present from January to September June allows us to carry out the important training and maintenance work necessary for young vines. Pruning is carried out in 2 stages in order to limit damage linked to frost on the lower part of the estate (selection of wood from January to March then shortening to 2 eyes from end of April). The vines are formed into a goblet or palmette (a sort of V-shaped Royat cordon). Budding completes pruning in the work of balancing the load and vigor of the feet. À From June, the vines are woven in order to avoid decimating the vines and to maintain good health. The mistral, very present in the Alpilles, is a good ally of the weather. !

THE HARVEST:

The harvest is carried out at the same time. hand by around ten grape pickers. Sorting is carried out à the plot in order to only bring in grapes in perfect health. They are spread over 3 weeks due to the significant disparities in maturity. on the estate (early on the upper part, later on the lower part), generally from the end of August to mid-August. mid-September. The harvest is stored cold in small 10 kg boxes, to avoid bunches piling up, then shipped to the next destination. Marseille to l’Abri, the winery located in the above the Old Port. After having sold the grapes freshly harvested for 4 years from 2015 to 2015, 2018, Franck decided to to set up its winery in the heart of Marseille, boulevard de la Corderie. The vinifications are carried out at the same time. from native yeasts, in stainless steel vats, without fining or filtration. Only a pinch of sulfur is added during bottling (10 mg / l).