Visit and picking with Hughes-Béguet

It’s a Tuesday morning, the sun is rising over the forested hills in the distance. I'm picking my first bunches of Savagnin and chatting all things wine, canopy management, soil types and general things all us nerdy wine people love to talk. I'm in Les Saules vineyard perched above the town of Mesnay and I'm talking to Patrice Béguet of Domaine Hughes-Béguet . He is on the other side of the vineyard row and I am trying to keep up. Not because I'm a slow picker, but because I keep stopping every five seconds to take it all in. It's a fairy tale view. Limestone cliffs rise out of the forest, La Cuisance cuts its way through Mesnay below and down to Arbois in the distance forming the valley. Both villages meld into one another but it’s still quaint and very French with white render and stone walled houses with reddish clay coloured roofs broken by the Church steeples. Vineyards surround the whole area and its fluoro green this time of year. This part of Les Saules is on a steep slope near the forest above. Patrice tells me it gives the savagnin a unique flavour from this area. I munch on some grapes and spit the pips to get a sense of what he is on about. It’s a lovely savagnin flavour and already contains that crunch of this grape style. The vineyard is what I would expect organic viticulture to be. Indigenous grasses grow between rows, blackberries, raspberries, figs and walnuts all surround the area. A couple of bee hives sit at the bottom of the vineyard. There is even a harvest of Strawberries in one particular corner of the vineyard in the spring before the biodynamic preparations are sprayed through the field.

I get back to work as we are all under no illusion that this is not play but hard farming work and somebody’s livelihood. I brought along my two sons, as you do, to have a go. One blurts out, to the winemaker no doubt, "I thought this was going to be the most boring day ever. It’s actually really fun'. He gets through about 4 rows by himself during the course of the day and two vineyards. A Picking machine!

Patrice is knowledgeable about his vineyards and his terrior. He shares the information with passion and a teaching attitude. I chat with one of his interns who convey the same message and that he enjoys working for Patrice because he is willing to take the time to explain all things wine making, organic and biodynamic farming practices and his experimental attitude in the cave.

Backing him up is Caroline his wife. An English girl whom he met while in University in France. The two make a great team and I was lucky enough to spend some time to get to know them, and their two children, quite well. After the first vineyard picked, Caroline had brought the French picnic to the vineyards and we got stuck in to fresh made juices, cheeses, saucisson and a load of baguettes. Ok, it was back to work so we jumped into the car to smash out another vineyard to get it all back to the winery for destemming and pressing.

The next vineyard was Champ Fort where we pick the last of his Savagnin. It sits at the edge of town giving a perfect view of the whole of the valley. This vineyard is quite wild, as most of Patrice's Vineyards are. His canopy management is as organic as his preparations and general attitude of life. The indigenous grasses under the vines are lush and thriving. He tells me an ancient alpine sheep roam here during the growing season for mowing. The bunches are quite small and only a few dangle from each vine. An intern tells me Patrice drops a fair bit of fruit to maintain intensity in the grapes he harvests. We are done in no time and head back to the Cave.

The workers are slowly pressing out the grapes in his horizontal hydraulic press run by solar panels. I follow the hose to a stainless steel tank where it will sit for wild fermentation. A little will also sit on skins for his 'Orange was the colour of her dress' wine. It was named after a Jazz song which Patrice enjoys. He is a keen trombone player himself.

Patrice also took the time earlier in the week to show me through the cave. This is below their house and use to make up the catacombs of the Church next door. It's quite ancient with Patrice pointing out some stone work that has not been seen in the area for centuries. Here he houses all the barrels which wine is gravity fed into and all are between 3-10 years old, all purchased second hand in Bordeaux. Not that he specifically wants this areas barrel, but that he likes a specific barrel maker from the area.

Caroline is busy in the Kitchen and before long we get stuck into a farmers feed and 'we of harvest' with family, friends and the workers. Patrice is really happy with the 2015 harvest. The grapes are of good quality. I observed this myself in the vineyards with very clean fruit and quite open bunches. His worst enemy was the birds, boar and badgers that habit the forest. I expect some great wines from 2015.