Les Chemins de Traverse
SANTIAGO
I imagine myself being famous for the quality of my grapes and everyone wanting to buy them. And one day, I don't want to sell them anymore but keep them for myself and make wine from those super healthy grapes. And that is what happened to Louis Damien Bouchacourt and his great love Claudia, who we have known since 2016 from Une Tranche Made in Chénas by Philippe Jambon and who, since the arrival of little Santiago, have started a new life with Les Chemins de Traverse with the desire to renew their identity. Renewing, adapting, questioning, and changing is the truth of a winegrower and his wealth. Louis Damien and Claudia are ready for new adventures. They hope to involve Philippe Jambon as an essential source and as a touchstone in the coming years because if you have been around for a long time, you have seen a lot of things. Philippe is critical but never cynical, but pragmatic and mischievous.
ETERNAL FAITH
The story about the trip to New Zealand where Louis Damien goes to work on an organic farm and where the sustainable way of working captures his full attention. He has the opportunity to learn with Julien Guillot for four years in the Mâconnais at the Domaine des Vignes du Maynes. And about the day in 2013 when Damien went cycling through the vineyards of Chile for four months and met Claudia Andrea Cirano on February 20, who is on holiday in the South with her niece and fortunately speaks French. Claudia secretly finds him attractive right away, and because he is cycling past Vigña del Mar anyway, he is allowed to stay the night. When he is back home, Claudia visits him in Beaujolais to see where he lives, but she is also back quickly because Louis Damien gets hit by a tractor that does not look good at all. She stays, and on August 9, 2014, they promise each other eternal fidelity.
HEALTHY WEEDS
A part of the family domain has now taken over, and Louis Damien and Claudia start with their vision of wine and viticulture within an ecological story. Inspired by the reading of Jules Chauvet, a winemaker in La Chapelle Guinchay who launched the natural wine movement in the eighties, one of the first steps is cultivating and certifying the vineyards organically. Louis Damien likes experimenting with different crops in his vineyards and loves healthy weeds. Not only trees such as almond, cherry, walnut, peach and reine-claude grow there, but also potato and asparagus fields for their use have been lovingly planted. He alternates between soil work and the use of spontaneous natural grass cover, such as hay, to structure and stimulate the biological activity of his soils. A well-functioning soil is the basis for a beautiful plant producing healthy grapes. In the cellar, he gives his wines the time they need to develop and allows natural processes to occur so that oenological input becomes unnecessary. This commitment to sustainable viticulture should reassure you of our dedication to the environment and encourage your support of our practices.
CORDON DE ROYAT
Louis Damien's estate comprises 2.75 ha of Chénas on granite and 1.25 ha of Beaujolais-Villages in La Chapelle de Guinchay on old alluvium with mainly gravel. Since the beginning, the soil has been treated organic; since 2015, the entire estate has been certified organic. Today, 75% of the estate sees vines with a 7,500 vines/ha density. Louis Damien had already started a phase of modernisation of the vineyard. Older parcels of 80 years and older were uprooted and replanted into Cordon de Royat with a density of 6,000 vines/ha. By 2025, 50% of the area will be this way.
NATURAL PROCESSES
Where Louis Damien and Claudia previously concentrated on the Beaujolais-Villages appellation and Cru Chénas, they have opted for Vin de France with Les Chemins de Traverse, and Made in Chénas has been renamed Cairn (stone piles that mark a route), and the white and red Beaujolais-Villages now go by the names Azimut and Antécime respectively. The delicious and limited Pétillant Naturel Déambule (wandering) is an expressive beauty that hides the true terroir expression of pure Gamay under its playful appearance. These unique wine offerings, with their explosive aromas, silky mouthfeel, and surprising stability without a milligram of sulphites, are sure to intrigue and excite you. We can safely say that Louis Damien and Claudia are some of the most hospitable winemakers in our portfolio.
