Bugey François Grinand

François Grinand La Vigne du Perron, is located in a garage about fifty meters from the town square of Villebois; his duty is to keep alive the vineyards slope and the heritage of his village's.
François is a piano teacher with a Conservatoire degree; in his late twenties decide to study wine at Macon Uni. He always enjoying working with his father on their tiny family vineyard in the north of Bugey.
After visiting Marcel Lapierre he realise the traditional method of working and making wines in Beaujolais were more or less how his family had always made wines and decide that was the path to follow not what he learn in Macon école. 
Monsieur Grinand he rent some vineyards between Villebois and Groslée village's to supplement the family holding, also he decide to make wines without sulphur. 
During his first vintages something was not as he wished, so in 1996 asked for a help and with the advice of a consultant he used cultured yeast and added So2; but right afterwards after spoke with Jacques Néauport ( Friend of Jules Chauvet the two first to attempt sulfur-free vinification ...) also with Pierre Overnoy he return on his original idea. 
Raphael Bartucci in Cerdon helped him to convert on organic farming in 1998. 
In 2009 La Vigne du Perron was born with a partnership of one of his friend which help Francois financially; now around 3 hectares of vines based on Chardonnay, Altesse, Gamay, Mondeuse and Pinot Noir are mainly on limestone scree, with some loess or silt between 300 and 400m. Négociation sometimes has been adopted with great healthy grapes from his dudes.
François follow Moon phases, biodynamics techniques and keeping copper input below 3Kg per hectare annually. 
Fiberglass, old oak of various size are the ageing vessel, for the whites he try to work with lots of oxygen in the beginning especially at the pressing time to avoid oxidation lately and usually vinified  in oak. Semi-carbonic maceration are employed on the reds always whole bunches except with Mondeuse which is always destemmed. 
These are wines for lovers of energy - tension and drinkability. 
2019 Persanne 
Was savoury, bright complex but in a way Vin soif with his 11% alcohol... I was in love with the drinkability, in the same time with the salty perception minerality. 
Persanne is a local synonym for Mondeuse in Bugey to not confuse with the grape Persan, another autochtone of Bugey/Savoie area. 
2016 Les Ermitures 
100% Gamay from an abbonded vineyard. On the dark fruit to give a comparison a Morgon style; with some age on top some tertiary as mushroom and wet leaves were showing but in the same time the wines was electric and super savoury. 
Bugey
is a winegrowing region in the Ain administrative department of eastern France. The area covers the very southern limits of the Jura mountain range. The Rhone river passing around the southern end of Bugey, before flowing south to the Rhône vineyards. The more specific Roussette du Bugey is based to the rich, Altesse white wines.
The geology of Bugey is very similar to the neighbourhood Savoie. The vineyards are grouped in clusters, divided from one another by various mountains and ridges, which rise steeply above their corresponding valleys.
Cerdon is one of three sub appellations in the Bugey appellation of the southern Jura mountains. The wines are exclusively sparkling rosés made from the Gamay and Poulsard grape varieties.

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raffaele mastrovincenzo
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wine / spirit / lambic / drinker
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