Portrait / Didier Barral, the boss at Faugères
Didier Barral has come a long way since he settled on his father's schist land in Lenthéric, in the Faugères appellation, in the early 1990s. In search of an authentic expression of his terroir, he spares no effort in the vineyard and has since produced recognised natural wines.
Soil preparation
Around his vines, Didier Barral reconstitutes an almost unique system of organic mixed farming (cows grazing in the vineyards, caterpillar tractors so as not to compact the soil, compost prepared from recycled cardboard, bat nesting boxes).
Here, everything has been done naturally, through hard work and common sense to promote soil life. And yet, what a long way we've come since we took over the farm in 1993. In order to improve the permeability of its soils, it relies first and foremost on earthworms, the best allies for fertile soil. Today, it reduces as much as possible the passage of machines that compact the soil too much, and no longer practices any chemical treatment. Nor does it use sulphur or copper.
The contribution of animals in the vineyard
To enrich them and favour earthworms, Didier acquired a herd of cattle and a few horses, which graze the vines in winter. The animals bring organic matter to the plots and pre-prune the vine stocks by eating the upper part of the shoots. The rest of the year, the cattle graze fallow land and old vineyard plots converted into permanent meadows. Never at a loss for ideas, Didier Barral is increasing the number of trials to promote biological pest control. Hedges have been planted between the plots to house the beneficials and he has even built bat nesting boxes to provide a refuge for these precious allies who, at night, devour many of the insects responsible for the cluster worm. In short, renowned wines that are healthy, pleasant to drink and digestible to the point of losing one's head!
The natural wines of Didier Barral
Didier Barral, these are renowned wines, healthy, pleasant to drink and digestible to lose one's head! First of all red wines with, to start with, the"Tradition" cuvée. Then the famous"Jadis" cuvée, a structured wine with 2 years of barrel ageing to mature and gain complexity. To finish the reds, Didier offers us"Valinière", an intense, powerful wine of great complexity. And let's not forget the white cuvée based on a Grape variety quais-disparu, the terret bourret. A wine that slams in the mouth with a gigantic finish ...
ALL WINES FROM Winery LÉON BARRAL are HERE