Nathalie and Jérôme are the winemakers at Château Boutinet, a beautiful estate on the slopes of Fronsac in the Bordeaux region. Guides and winemakers, they combine their two activities: wine tourism and wine production, much to the delight of wine and nature lovers. Their projects are numerous and ambitious: biodynamic farming , a new vintage, and above all, the renovation of Château Boutinet, the estate's emblem.

Château Boutinet on the hillsides of Fronsac

Nathalie and Jérôme met at university. At the time, Nathalie was a tour guide and hiking guide in the vineyards. She returned to the University of Bordeaux to study wine tasting and winemaking. There she met Jérôme, who had extensive experience in winemaking.

Together, they embarked on the winemaking adventure by purchasing Château Boutinet and its 8.15 hectares of vines in 2011. This 18th-century property, located on the hillsides of Fronsac, produces wine under the Bordeaux Supérieur appellation.

" Jérôme fell into the world of wine when he was very young. As for me, I'm a tour guide and trainer at the Bordeaux Wine School. To sum it up, he makes the wine, I drink it !"

Nathalie and Jérôme welcome you to the Château and their vineyards.

" Our goal is not simply to make wine, but to welcome people to the property. The terroir is certainly important, but above all we wanted a pleasant place to receive guests, welcome them, and live ," Nathalie tells us.

Drawing on her experience as a guide, she analyzes: "I visit properties all year round where you spend a lot of time in the cellars and vat rooms and very little in the vineyards.

We shouldn't do that. More and more, people want to return to nature, have a garden, and grow tomatoes… At Château Boutinet, we want to explain to them how we can make such extraordinary and unique wines from grapes.

They then set up numerous wine tourism activities . The Rando-Tapas is the flagship activity of Château Boutinet: the winemaking couple offers a 1 hour 15 minute walk, followed by a tasting of the Château's wines accompanied by homemade tapas: " We took classes with a chef last year to cook the tapas ourselves. The idea is conviviality ," explains the winemaker.

They also offer visits and tastings, in the vineyards and in the cellar, as well as hikes through the vineyard to discover the terroir of Fronsadais.

Château Boutinet is on the path to biodynamic farming.

Nathalie and Jérôme are very attached to the vines, its land and this terroir. Following the famous adage " to make good wine, you need beautiful grapes ", the couple meticulously works the vines and takes care to nurture the land.

“ We practice sustainable agriculture. Since we arrived, we’ve worked the soil extensively. Our goal is to move towards biodynamic farming.” The winemakers are beginning their conversion to organic farming this year. At the same time, Nathalie is training for the first year at the Lyon School of Medicinal Plants and Natural Knowledge (ELPMSN) : “ I want to understand why I use nettle or silica at a particular time. It’s a real life decision to move towards biodynamics. It’s something that resonates with me ,” she explains.

Our favorite wines from Domaine Boutinet:
Thalie de Boutinet 2015

Château Boutinet 2013

Château Boutinet-Rouge 2014

Château Boutinet wines: the taste of the terroir above all

Upon the winemakers' arrival at the estate, the wines were vinified in a cooperative cellar. They decided to produce their own wines with grapes selected from the best plots of the Château.

" Our two best plots are on a clay-limestone plateau and are planted with Merlot. It is quality that dictated to us that our wines will be 100% Merlot ," says Nathalie.

Winemaking is a true team effort: " We both like the same wine profiles that stay fruity. Even our cuvée that goes into barrels must not be hidden by the wood. We want fruit, freshness and acidity ," explains the winemaker.

Nathalie and Jérôme produce 3 wines, a Clairet and two reds:

• Boutinet's Clairet : " We wanted to make a Clairet because it's a true appellation in Bordeaux, and a real opportunity to be able to make it."
• Château Boutinet : " A wine for pleasure and sharing with friends. We wanted a wine that was simple and convivial, one that could be drunk the year after the harvest."
• Thalie de Boutinet is a wine in the Bordeaux tradition.
  

"L'Etoile du Boutinet": a new vintage to rebuild Château Boutinet

There's no shortage of projects on the estate, and ideas are flowing freely. " In June 2017, we'll be launching a new vintage, L'étoile de Boutinet . This vintage was born somewhat by chance in 2012, and we recreated it in 2015 ," explains Nathalie. The unique aspect? The purchase of a bottle will contribute to the reconstruction of Château Boutinet, a magnificent estate sadly now in ruins.

On that date, they will also inaugurate a new tasting room: " It's an original tasting room... I can't say more. It's a surprise ," Nathalie concluded enigmatically. To be continued...

Manon Mouly (for Les Grappes )