"I campaign for rare and forgotten grape varieties"

Updated on December 14, 2022

Diary entry #2: I was the archetype of the overbooked urban girl. I left the TV studios to become a winemaker: a life choice.

I don't regret embarking on this adventure!

Marc and Laetitia

Enthusiasm, certainly, but also a good dose of stress, a touch of fatigue, a hint of overwork… In short, the archetype of the overbooked urban girl. That's what you would have thought if you had met me a few years ago!

The enthusiasm is still there. As for the rest, my life changed last year when I decided to take over the family vineyard located in the Southern Alps. Let me tell you right now: I don't regret embarking on this adventure!

This estate comprises eleven hectares of vines and has a unique feature: a rare and forgotten grape variety from the Alpine Arc grows on our slopes: Mollard (literally "little hill", "small mountain"). My father fought for 15 years with the help of the French Vine Institute to rehabilitate it.

Mollard is the emblematic red grape variety of the Hautes-Alpes.

Mollard is the emblematic red grape variety of the Hautes-Alpes. It is an integral part of the history of viticulture in our valleys. It is well-suited to the altitude and mountain terroir. The wines made from it produce light and fruity red wines with an alcohol content not exceeding 12%. Their color tends towards an intense ruby. Their nose, spicy and slightly peppery, is characteristic of the grape variety.

However, in the 1980s, many winegrowers decided to uproot it and replace it with international grape varieties such as cabernet or syrah, thus appealing to a wider range of consumers.

Some plots of Mollard vines still exist in the Hautes-Alpes, but due to a lack of replanting, their health is deteriorating and the grape variety is threatened with extinction.

From the early 1990s, aware of the potential of this grape variety and concerned with preserving biodiversity, Marc, my father, embarked on an experiment to safeguard Mollard. He was a pioneer at the time, and few winemakers believed in his success!

He patiently selected the healthiest and most vigorous vines from the Hautes-Alpes vineyards. After 10 years of study, two of these vines were finally chosen to be preserved and propagated in order to revive the production of Mollard. In the early 2000s, a "mother vine" was planted and maintained by the Allemand estate.

The adventure is long and expensive

The journey was long and costly, but Marc's work eventually paid off. In 2005, Le Mollard was officially added to the French catalogue of grape varieties. A wonderful reward for the winemaker and the institutions that supported him!

This preservation work has made me realize the incredible richness that our terroirs hold… All over France, winemakers are fighting for the diversity of aromas and pleasures against the standardization and uniformity of tastes!

Find my wines on Les Grappes

Laetitia Allemand, winemaker at Domaine Allemand