Domaine Guillot-Broux Macon-Cruzille Le Clos de la Mollepierre 2021

Located in Cruzille, Emmanuel Broux’s family comes from five generations of Burgundian grape growers and barrel makers. Emmanuel’s grandfather was a pioneer in organic viticulture and created the first organic vineyard in Burgundy in 1954 (certified since 1991). The story of the small town of Cruzille becoming the birthplace of organic agriculture in Burgundy is truly unbelievable... Emmanuel’s grandfather, Pierre Guillot, was a notary in Paris during World War II and was taken prisoner by the Nazis when they occupied the city. He managed to escape the camp and fled south to the “free zone” in southern Burgundy. Surrounded by winemakers, he started asking questions about agricultural practices that left him unsatisfied. In a ghastly twist, he also discovered that many of the pesticides used in the vineyards were developed in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Having been a prisoner himself, the idea of using pesticides in the natural beauty of the vineyards of the Mâconnais was totally unthinkable. He went on to meet Max Léglise, the head of the French National Institute of Agriculture Research, and they set out on the great adventure of making organic wines. The domaine has been certified organic since 1991. They plough and use natural methods of fighting parasites, green manure, organic fertilizers (to feed the soil and not the vines), and mineral sprays with stable active molecules that have zero effect on the finished wines.