Domaine Mouthes Le Bihan Les Apprentis 2009 Aquitaine, France

About the winemaker

The 27-hectare domain of Mouthes Le Bihan is located in the appellation of Côtes de Duras in the Aquitaine region in South West France. It is made up of several small vineyards which Catherine and Jean-Mary Le Bihan bought when the previous owners retired at the end of the 1990s. 2000 was their first vintage. Their aim at the time was – and still is – to produce good wine as naturally as possible. Convinced that the only way to achieve this was to produce top-quality grapes, they concentrated their efforts on the vines themselves. Being equally concerned about the health of the planet, their customers and themselves, they decided to ban weedkillers, chemical fertilisers and synthetic products. Catherine and Jean-Mary prefer to let nature take its course and to ‘limit’ their role to careful monitoring and regular tastings. They don’t use any additives apart from small amounts of sulphur. Fermentation, therefore, is usually slow, often stops half way through, and sometimes doesn’t finish until the following year. But, as they put it, ”since waiting does not require much efforts we’ve decided to let the passing of time do the work”. The results so far have encouraged them to keep trusting the natural process.