Domaine des Barbatruks
Maxim Lannay started the domaine in 2017 and was joined by his wife Isabelle a year later. Maxim did not come from a family of winemakers. Coincidentally enough, he was once a young student of Ratapoil’s Rafael Monier, who was famously a longtime school teacher. He developed an interest in viticulture and began working at Domaine Villet, one of the forerunners of biodynamic agriculture in the Jura. He then spent two years in the cellar of Alice Bouvot of the legendary Domaine de l’Octavin where he learned the finer points of viniculture. Isabelle Delahaye is a former sommelier who worked in some of France’s finest wine establishments, and she was introduced to Maxim by Alice Bouvot herself. Today, they work just around 1 ha of vines dotted around Arbois, Montigny-les-Arsures, Pupillin, and Montmarin. They grow savagnin, ploussard, seibel (a hybrid variety), pinot noir, and gamay. In 2020, they started a négociant range (simply called Les Barbatruks, after a French cartoon) in order to help invest money into new projects and provide for a better living that the fickle climatic conditions and small land surfaces of the Jura were not allowing. Grapes for the négociant cuvées are purchased from biodynamic growers in the Rhône Valley, the Languedoc, Alsace, and more.
In their own vineyards, all viticulture is conducted according to biodynamic practices. All harvesting is done manually, and the fruit is sorted in the vineyard. They use an old-school, manual vertical press and conduct extended, gentle presses to obtain lightly extracted juice. All fermentations are carried out with wild indigenous yeasts, and bottling is done by gravity without fining, filtration, or the addition of sulfites. The couple is extremely conscious of conducting every process of the wine making process by hand.
Les Barbatruks have only a short history as a producer, and as the climatic conditions have varied greatly each year in their experience thus far, the cuvées vary from vintage to vintage. The idea, though, is to produce pure wines with energetic verve that are very easy to drink. They are also taking on many bold, experimental projects in their estate and négociant lines that constantly renew our interest and make these young guns some of the most compelling vignerons around.
Wines
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Ça Bamboche 2022
Appellation: Vin de France
Region: Jura
Variety: Savagnin
Soil: Calcareous clay
Vine Age:
Farming: practicing biodynamic
Vinification: Savagnin is direct pressed before élevage in fiberglass for 9 month
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Sulfitage: none
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Take My Coconut 2022
Appellation: Vin de France
Region: Jura
Variety: Chardonnay
Soils: Calcareous clay Vine Age:
Farming: practicing biodynamic
Vinification: 100% chardonnay from estate vines around Arbois. The fruit is destemmed and undergoes a 2 week maceration before an 8 month élevage in fiberglass. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, without the addition of SO2.
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Sulfitage: none
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Ploussy Riot 2022
Appellation: Vin de France
Region: Jura
Variety: Poulsard
Soils: Calcareous clay
Vine Age:
Farming: practicing biodynamic
Vinification: 100% ploussard from estate vines around Arbois. The fruit is destemmed and undergoes a 2 week maceration before a 7 month élevage in fiberglass. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, without the addition of SO2.
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Sulfitage: none
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Raide is Dead 2022
Appellation: Vin de France
Region: Jura
Variety: 35% Ploussard, 35% Seibel, 10% Gamay, 10% Pinot, 10% Trousseau
Soils: Calcareous clay
Vine Age:
Farming: practicing biodynamic
Vinification: Destemmed grapes are macerated for two weeks before a 7 month élevage in fiberglass tank. Fining: none
Filtration: none
Sulfitage: none
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Les Barbatruks “Barbascat” Blanc 2022
Appellation: Vin de France Region: Roussillon Variety: Muscat Soils: Clay-limestone Vine Age: Farming: practicing biodynamic Vinification: Muscat is grown by Vincent Lafage of Les Salicaires - aside from producing his own wine, he also provides fruit for Domaine de l’Octavin and Patrick Bouju. Fruit is direct pressed and raised in fiberglass tank for 8 months. Fining: none Filtration: none Sulfitage: none
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Les Barbatruks “Barbiturik” Blanc 2022
Appellation: Vin de France Region: Vaucluse Variety: Vermentino Soils: Limestone Vine Age: Farming: biodynamic Vinification: 100% vermentino sourced from biodynamic vines in the Vaucluse. The fruit is destemmed and undergoes a 2-week maceration before a 7-month élevage in fiberglass. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, and without the addition of SO2. Fining: none Filtration: none Sulfitage: none
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Les Barbatruks "Barbacuda" Blanc 2021
Appellation: Vin de France
Region: Alsace
Variety: Gewurztraminer
Soils: Clay-limestone Vine Age:
Farming: practicing biodynamic
Vinification: Gewurtztraminer grown by Guillaume Edel from Vins Edel Clauss - another talented winemaker and a common source for both the Barbatruks and Domaine de l’Octavin. Destemmed grapes are macerated for one week before a 10 month élevage in fiberglass tank. Fining: none
Filtration: none
Sulfitage: None
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Les Barbatruks "Barbaragood" Rouge 2022
Appellation: Vin de France
Region: Vaucluse
Variety: Syrah
Soils: Clay-limestone
Vine Age:
Farming: biodynamic
Vinification: Fruit undergoes the millefeuille method of maceration (“burger method” as Max and Isa call it) where alternating layers of stemmed and destemmed bunches are stacked in the tank, in this case for two weeks in fiberglass before a 9 month élevage.
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Sulfitage: none
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Les Barbatruks "Barbagamelott" Rouge 2022
Appellation: Vin de France
Region: Ardèche, Vaucluse
Variety: Gamay, merlot
Soils: Clay-limestone
Vine Age:
Farming: biodynamic
Vinification: Assemblage of juice occurred after fermentation. Fruit undergoes the millefeuille method of maceration (“burger method” as Max and Isa call it) where alternating layers of stemmed and destemmed bunches are stacked in the tank, in this case for three weeks in fiberglass before a 3 month élevage.
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Sulfitage: none
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Les Barbatruks “Barbamama” Rouge 2022
Appellation: Vin de France
Region: Vaucluse
Variety: Grenache
Soil: Clay-limestone
Vine Age:
Farming: biodynamic
Vinification: 100% grenache sourced from biodynamic vines in the Vaucluse. The fruit undergoes a 3 week “burger method” maceration as Max and Isa call it (this is the millefeuille method where destemmed and stemmed clusters are alternated in stacks in the tank). The wine is raised 9 months in stainless steel tank. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, without the addition of SO2. Fining: none
Filtration: none
Sulfitage: None
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Les Barbatruks “Barbalolo” Rouge 2022
Appellation: Vin de France
Region: Vaucluse, Ardeche
Variety: Merlot
Soils: Clay-limestone
Vine Age:
Farming: biodynamic
Vinification: 50% merlot from Carpentras in the Vaucluse which is direct pressed and blended with 50% merlot from Ardeche (from Les 2 Fauves!) that sees a two week infusion. Bottled en primeur in November after harvest. Fining: none
Filtration: none
Sulfitage: none