Fleurie and More from Julie Balagny

Julie Balagny Producer Profile

Quick Facts

Name of Estate	Julie Balagny
Region	Beaujolais
Country	France
Proprietor	Julie Balagny
Size	4.4 hectares
Farming	Organic (Not Certified)
Soils	Granite, quartz, basalt, clay
Grapes grown	Gamay
Fun facts	We secure our annual allocation of Julie's wines by offering her a pair of Converse each year.

We secure our annual allocation of Julie's wines by offering her a pair of Converse each year.

Name of Estate	Julie Balagny
Region	Beaujolais
Country	France
Proprietor	Julie Balagny
Size	4.4 hectares
Farming	Organic (Not Certified)
Soils	Granite, quartz, basalt, clay
Grapes grown	Gamay
Fun facts	We secure our annual allocation of Julie's wines by offering her a pair of Converse each year.

Get to know
Julie Balagny

producer profile 31.05.2019

Julie Balagny Producer Profile

Julie Balagny landed in <glossary title="454">Fleurie</glossary> in 2009 after many years heading the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary> of <glossary title="160">biodynamic</glossary> pioneers Terre des Chardons. Originally from Paris, her first career seemed destined to be in psychomotricity, the process of teaching basic motor skills to the mentally handicapped. After heading the <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary> of a more "<glossary term="Chemicals" title="279">chemical</glossary>" <glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary>, then Terre des Chardons, Julie decided it was time to start her own project. With her sites on either the <glossary title="151">Beaujolais</glossary> or the <glossary title="560">Jura</glossary>, she did some research, and with the help of Yvon Métras and Michel Guignier, was able to purchase her current property, an isolated <glossary title="305">clos</glossary> with 3.2 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of vines, two <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of prairies and three <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of woods. Inspired by her past experience at Terre des Chardons, Julie quickly saw the <glossary title="160">biodynamic</glossary> potential of this land: "The vines support the woods, the woods supply the livestock (Julie owns and tends sheep), the livestock supplies the soil: everything works together, everything is coherent." The <glossary title="454">Fleurie</glossary> site, apart from being idyllically beautiful, has proven to be a very interesting <glossary title="1026">terroir</glossary>. As mentioned above, the site is completely isolated and surrounded by woods. The vines themselves are on a very steep hill, making any <glossary title="645">mechanical</glossary> work impossible and forcing Julie to do everything by hand. The vines vary drastically in age (30 to 90) and are grown on three separate, distinct soil compositions: pure <glossary title="502">granite</glossary> mixed with <glossary title="504">pebbles</glossary> and <glossary title="909">sand</glossary>, <glossary title="502">granite</glossary> and <glossary title="842">quartz</glossary> and <glossary title="502">granite</glossary> with <glossary title="145">basalt</glossary>. In 2015, Julie was able to acquire a <glossary title="523">hectare</glossary> of <glossary term="Beaujolais (Appellation)" title="1310">Beaujolais</glossary> planted in <glossary title="301">clay</glossary>, <glossary title="504">pebbles</glossary> and <glossary title="909">sand</glossary> and 0.7 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of <glossary title="691">Moulin-à-Vent</glossary>. The latter are old vines (50+) planted on a steep hill of decomposed <glossary term="Granite" title="502">granite</glossary>. In the <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary>, every wine is made in the same way: the grapes are <glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">fermented</glossary> <glossary term="Semi-Carbonic Maceration" title="942">semi-carbonically</glossary> in <glossary term="Concrete" title="325">concrete</glossary> <glossary term="Vat/Tank" title="1140">vats</glossary>, then moved to a gorgeous, old school <glossary term="Manual Press" title="1200">manual press</glossary>, where the process is intentionally slow and delicate. The juices are then <glossary term="Racking/Soutirage" title="843">racked</glossary> to old <glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrels</glossary> for <glossary term="Elevage" title="418">élevage</glossary>. Julie's <glossary term="Cuvée" title="363">cuvées</glossary> tend to vary year to year; the recent trend has been giving each a new name or <glossary term="Wine Label" title="573">label</glossary> each  <glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary>. Though she firmly believes in the <glossary term="AOC" title="108">AOC</glossary> system, she has in the past <glossary term="Declassification" title="383">declassified</glossary> some of her wines to <glossary term="Vin de France" title="1092">Vin de France</glossary>, including the entirety of the 2018 <glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary>. The total production is bottled without <glossary term="Fining" title="449">fining</glossary>, <glossary term="Filtration" title="447">filtration</glossary> or <glossary term="Sulfites" title="993">sulfur</glossary>.

article 07.07.2023

Remembering Our Friend Julie Balagny

When I saw Alain Coudert from Clos de la Roilette’s calling my phone last Saturday morning, I didn’t pick up. It’s abnormal for a vigneron to call over the weekend in regards to business, but I figured he wanted to talk about an upcoming pickup, a label registration or something of the sort. I was also rammed in a car full of childhood friends road-tripping for the holiday weekend; I let the call go to voicemail, deciding to give Alain a ring when we got to our destination. Then came a text from my mother asking me to call her: that meant bad news. Four days later and I’m still shell-shocked over Julie’s passing. Having been at her house less than a month ago, Julie had exuded so much LIFE over the course of that evening that her disappearance still feels impossible. Where do I start with Julie? The beginning? She started making wines under her own name in 2009, but had entered our collective orbit a few years prior. Her name was on everyone’s lips circa 2007 as the new talent to look out for. So Joe and Denyse decided they had to meet her, visiting Julie while she still ran the cellar at Terres des Chardons in the Costières de Nimes. An instant connection was made and it was agreed Louis/Dressner would import the wines. The following summer, Denyse remembers seeing Julie in the Beaujolais with Yvon Métras: she had visited the land that would become her Fleurie parcels (1) but nothing was finalized. After securing the land in the Beaujolais and working it less than a full year, Louis/Dressner imported Julie’s first eponymous wines despite what felt like astronomical pricing at the time coupled with the complicated -now increasingly common- full-bodied nature of the solar 2009 vintage. I remember the first cuvées of 2009 "En Remont"(2) and “Vieilles Vignes” gathering dust on the shelf at Arlequin Wine Merchant where I worked in San Francisco. Beaujolais was having a moment around then, but that moment was intricately linked to cheaper pricing and the distinctly crystalline, semi-carbonic “light” style the region was known for. Actually, critics loved the 2009 vintage, they felt it was an achievement to have produced such ripe, big wines. We felt it was a pity that a wine we loved for its lightness and freshness was evaluated through the wrong criteria: it was not a vintage of our liking. LDM pressed on with the fantastic 2010’s, and by 2011 -the first of many vintages Julie felt obliged to blend her cuvées into a one-off wine, in this case “Carioca”(3)- a fanaticism of sorts was building around her. Julie’s star would continue to rise, and by the mid 2010’s she had earned her rank as a cult producer amongst a small but dedicated subset of drinkers. Usually I don't care about this type of thing much, but with Julie's wines I began to notice something different. It seemed like savvy drinkers understood and valued her efforts and vision, could TASTE it.  As far as I’m concerned, Julie was instrumental in fomenting a paradigm shift in how natural wine is approached. Producers like Julie forced companies like ours to re-align our values on, well, value. Louis/Dressner has always been about the underdog: independent vignerons from small or unknown regions making real, honest wine. For most of the company’s existence, that usually meant  a “bang for your buck” due to the producer and/or region’s lack of notoriety. But vigneronnes like Julie Balagny changed the tide: value didn’t have to be economically tied to a famous region or a famous vigneron anymore, but to the VALUE of hard work, of vision, passion and qualities bordering on artistic expression. More often than not, these producers were outsiders to the region they made wine in: second-career “neo-vignerons/vigneronnes” working hyper-artisanally (in Julie’s case with zero mechanization) with no employees, requiring countless hours more work in the vines and cellar.  There were of course precursors to Julie. But her arrival on the scene at the dawn of the information era, a time when consumers could meticulously geek out on every aspect of a vigneron’s work, was serendipitous and integral in getting a lot of people hooked on seeking out similar wines. I guess what I’m trying to say is that a lot of what we do now, or at least the way I interpret what we do, goes back to representing a human’s passion and humanity through their wine. Is this something we can actually succeed in as a company? Knowing Julie so well, I could taste the good, the bad, the chaos, the laughs, the bare-bones EVERYTHING, the pseudo-commune that was her house, even her crazy dogs, chickens and sheep running around the yard and vineyards... Are these things someone who's never met her can taste? I don't know, but I'd posit that this type of je ne sais quoi is what drew so many to seek out her cuvées in the first place. Julie made me look for these qualities in other producers, seek them out even. Ok, I’ve been going on for a while now and barely broached Julie as a person. What can I say, Julie Balagny was one of a kind, always marching to the beat of her own polyrhythmic drum. Born in an aristocratic, well off Parisian family, she eschewed modern life and luxury for peasantry, the country-side, farm work. She lived a bare-bones, rustic and quasi-off the grid lifestyle. She was constantly brimming with restless energy and ideas. She lived in total chaos, and more then once the hectic energy she emitted and surrounded herself with made me feel like the mark of a prank tv-show or like I was making a cameo in a bizarro episode of the Beaujolais Real World (4).  The wackiness really ramped up when Julie moved to Romanèche-Thorins in 2015. Prior to living there, our visits with her tended to be one-on-one, more classic: a meet and greet, a tour of the vines, tasting wines in the cellar then a dinner somewhere. But, with the exception of summer 2015 when we visited her newly acquired Beaujolais and Moulin-à-Vent plots (5), all visits to the Romanèche house meant being SUCKED INTO THE VORTEX. There were of course the aforementioned dogs, chickens and sheep freely roaming the yard, often driving my mother's dog Zaggy completely bonkers (6). More memorable were the ever-revolving cast of employees, seasonal workers, friends, weirdos and wasteoids that became the de-facto accompaniment to our visits. If you’d entered that courtyard enough times (7), you knew you were going to be talking to chain-smoking randos knocking back glass after glass of Gamay (8). And of course there was always Julie, presiding over the chaos like nothing could be more normal. Cheeks red, hair blonde, eyes blazing blue and smiling at you like the lost long friend she hasn't seen in ages. Within minutes, you’d be deep in a conversation that would go on for hours, constantly re-enforced with another bottle, countless rolled cigarettes and, only after I insisted and because time had gotten away from her, a haphazard, improvised meal thrown together hours later than it should have been (9). There was always a lot to talk about. The usual vigneron blah blah (the weather, the vintage...) was only a formality with Julie, a quick box to check off so we could get to the good stuff. Sometimes it was hard to focus on her because a sheep was bumping its head into your leg. Or a very intoxicated shirtless man, badly scraped and bruised from drunkenly crashing his scooter hours earlier was berating you for not wearing a face-mask when bicycling in New York City (he'd never been and this was pre-pandemic). Or an equally intoxicated sommelier rolling in the dirt telling a sheep he loved them. Or an even more intoxicated sommelier drunkenly cutting up cucumbers and tomatoes, putting them in his glass, pouring and drinking a Balagny wine in it before I confiscated it (ok, that was the same sommelier telling the sheep he loved it, here is his picture). <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/8e/c6/8ec6df573478a63c1948ee247ee8f24f.jpg" /> Julie's house could sometimes feel like a haven for lost souls. Yet just as often you’d feel a raw energy, an incubator for a new generation of rural youth forging their own path. In both cases, it came from a place of utmost generosity and open-mindedness on Julie’s part. Most of the people I met at her table found inspiration working with her, whether there for seasonal work or deciding they wanted to become a vigneron in their early 50's and randomly apprenticing with her knowing nothing about natural wine. For the full-time crew, itself a rag-tag group of misfits, there was a feeling of belonging, a leftist, ecologically militant oasis in an increasingly far-right and angry rural France.  The most recurrent character in the last few years, one whom I’ve grown to adore, is Sylvain Chanudet, an ex-vigneron and the personified quintessence of a Beaujolois. After a very complicated period in his life, Julie had let Sylvain stay with her for a bit. He never left, becoming a permanent house-mate, adviser, pro-bono employee and even selling Julie some of the grapes he continues to meticulously farm despite not making wine anymore. Over the last few years, a visit with Julie meant a visit with Sylvain, always a treat for me. Their bond and friendship was so clear, so deep and powerful. I can’t imagine how much pain he must be in right now. My last visit with Julie was less than a month ago, on Thursday June 8th. I got to the house around 6pm: after accidentally startling Julie who hadn’t heard me come in, a group of three young men arrived and quickly hunkered around the outdoor table to smoke cigarettes and drink Gamay. These were Julie’s employees, including Brice aka Docteur Briçou (you may recognize that name from the Moulin-à-Vent cuvée (10)) and two other guys whose name I didn’t catch. They were looking at how to manually fix a part of a 1970’s chariot the team use to till the vines; replacement parts haven’t been available to purchase for roughly 45 years. At some point a young woman swung by for no perceptible reason (though I have a hunch), had a few glasses and cigarettes and left. Julie and I then tasted a recently bottled 2022 called "François", of which she gave me the back story. In 2020, she’d made a one-off wine called “Françoise” (11) from a plot of Beaujolais fruit her friend ended up still having when a contract didn’t go through at the last minute. In 2022, a young vigneron had committed suicide just before the harvest and his family was looking to sell the grapes. Julie felt it would have been wrong to call them herself (she didn’t want to take advantage of a terrible situation), but when it was them who reached out she decided to buy some. Julie named the cuvée "François" (12) and asked her label artist Delphine to make a man bringing flowers to his Françoise. Two one-offs loaded with symbolism. We then tried various 2022’s from barrels, some of which had tangible amounts of sugar that still needed to ferment, others that were to be bottled soon (I am unaware if this occurred in the time between my visit and her passing). When we re-emerged from the cellar, Sylvain Chanudet and Tristesse, an older shirtless man who seemed very smily for having the nickname “sadness” (probably the point) had joined the other employees for some smokes and wine before they all headed off to get more work done in the vines. That left Julie and I. Incredibly, this was destined to be our one and only tête à tête conversation in over a decade of friendship. Without the clique, we talked undistracted for hours-over a few bottles of course. She brought me up to speed with the craziness of dealing with her father’s inheritance and what it meant for the future of the estate. How she was planning on expanding her négociant line with grapes from Sylvain to help her have some earlier releases and keep things financially afloat. How she loved my “Sons of Winearchy” t-shirt (13) and wanted me get her one. We dove into her utopian vision of work and what she still hoped to accomplish: a true symbiosis of nature, beast and man coexisting and taking care of one another. I didn’t take very many notes but here are two quotes from that conversation: "I work on a human scale with human beings." "We're not business people, we're ecologists.” She talked about giving her employees a chance to make their own wines while still having the security of employment with her, to encourage them to work well and to know they have a support system. In fact, her long-term goal was to create a cave cooperative with her employees, Sylvain Chanudet and a few other vignerons: sharing equipment, helping each other with manual labor, building a communal cellar so smaller upstarts wouldn't have to take on the financial pressure of building their own cellars… Going back to older pieces I’d written about her, Julie was saying much of the same over a decade ago in January 2012: “I think it will remain as is in size. As I mentioned earlier, the real evolution I hope to achieve will come from working with livestock and the woods. If there were to be an expansion, I'd rather do it to help a young vigneron get started. There would be room to assist each other, to share tools, know-how and manual labor.” From this conversation, it finally clicked as to why Julie constantly surrounded herself with all these people, why she was so zen with her open door policy. Anyone and everyone was welcome. This wasn’t because of boredom or loneliness, this was a vision, a way to live… A true cooperative space where anyone was welcome!   Finally, we talked about how she was feeling great overall, how she was really embracing and enjoying life in her 40’s and that it was something I should look forward to. Putain… As the sun was setting, some of the guys came back, including Sylvain with a bunch of goat cheese from Tristesse’s friend. The other guys left; Sylvain had eaten already but kept us company while Julie prepared a quick meal: salad and cherries from her garden, potted Poulet en Crème and Tristesse’s goat cheese. On the cheese, Sylvain had this to say: “All I need is some of this, a piece of saucisson and a glass of Gamay in the morning. I’m good to go”. The three of us talked for many more hours: about the state of the world, about the Beaujolais, about a bunch of shit that would be too long to transcribe here. Julie started putting on music, which led us listening to Suprême N.T.M (a french rap crew) (14) and N.W.A , leading a philosophical discussion of how rap lyrics gave a voice to the oppressed, a way to speak truth to the injustices inflicted upon them. Sylvain admitted it wasn't really his thing sonically; he preferred Toto (15), whom he’d seen live in the 80’s and who he felt were very talented musicians. At some point a Mozart sonata came on. Chaos! Before leaving, Julie gave me a picnic basket full of breakfast goodies and an unlabeled magnum for Kewin Descombes’ 10 year anniversary party (16), which I drank with Jules Métras, Elisa Guerrin, Laura Lardy and a young woman from California apprenticing at Domaine Chapel who was hoping to visit Julie at some point. As I was about to drive off, Julie called for me in the night, running towards the car to hand me the notebook I’d forgotten at the table. It was the last time I’d see her. That night, I felt like we were on the verge of something. Like any truly amazing conversation, it can feel like you’ve figured everything out, that your ideas can change the world. Julie was radiant with joy and energy, smiling, laughing, cheering us on. We did the same. At one point I felt the presence of my usual Beaujolais companion Denyse (aka my mom) and my deceased father at the table with us, smiling fondly on these three individuals from wildly different backgrounds united over good wine and good people. I got emotional. I told myself: “this is why we fucking do what we do.” It was by far the best visit I’d ever had with Julie; she seemed at the apex of what she was doing, ready to push things to a whole other level. On my end, I left invigorated and re-inspired for the future: my own, my company’s, Julie’s. The visit felt like a gift, a sign of great things to come. Yet just a few weeks later I find myself forced to re-interpret those feelings. The magic of Julie Balagny can never be emulated or recreated. She was amongst a small group of vignerons/vigneronnes I truly idolize for their eclecticism, irreverence, passion, energy,  idiosyncrasy and conviction. Julie forged a community around her, one we’re all so much better off for having been a part of. I won’t try to find a replacement for Julie; instead I’ll look out for those same qualities in those I choose to surround myself with. Because people like her CAN change the world. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/1c/e5/1ce5d40d2b1f69433fb7c03221633931.jpg" /> *********** (1): Julie in her Fleurie vines with Trevor Kellogg in 2019. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/87/14/871416eddbc32128f5ed30da2cac7aaa.jpg" /> (2): a scan of the "En Remont" 2009 label. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/cf/58/cf58eb735fa2bceea84e46833c44595f.jpg" />.  (3) The Carioca 2011 label. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/6c/40/6c40c82cf495d88f05063a105db9cb96.jpg" /> (4): Christmas in summer at Julie Balagny's. Notice all the bottles on the table.  <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/9a/58/9a58088edfe6f5fac1fa214bd3232251.jpg" /> (5): Julie in her Moulin-à-Vent vines, 2015.<img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/c1/73/c173f3d97b362623a75f6a231cb029f7.jpg" /> (6) Dogs and sheep driving Zag bonkers. <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="560" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7C4QOVQ2dks" title="Balagny Zag Bark" width="320"></iframe> (7): The front yard in Romanèche-Thorins <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/e0/d0/e0d014f15aabf250d1b86412201e1b4d.jpg" /> (8): Rolling tobacco and Gamay, staples at Julie's table. Notice the Che Guevara tobacco pouch. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/1e/db/1edb7763a9f917a12d76da3c712e669f.jpg" /> (9): My last haphazard meal with Julie, 2023. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/20/d7/20d762a2ac0347613d1e6d108c1172a2.jpg" /> (10) The Docteur Briçou label  <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/b0/07/b007025bc9088e34ef5833280b09f502.jpg" />(11) "Françoise", a one-off cuvée made in 2020 from purchased fruit. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/9b/6d/9b6d36f784775bcb986899d2a01620ec.jpg" /> (12) "François" a one-off cuvée and the only 2022 bottled at the time of my visit. the spiritual succesor to "Françoise". <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/6d/21/6d2112da190af1ff5fd61d32653ec948.jpg" /> (13): The Sons of Winearchy designed for our 2015 trade tasting t-shirts. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/3b/c1/3bc1ec3bfd7f3d59fd583334ff82d13b.jpg" /> (14): The music video for Suprême N.T.M's "Laisse Pas Trainer Ton Fils", the song we listened to and one of the best songs in the history of French hip-hop. <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="404" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/biYdUZXfz9I" title="Suprême NTM - Laisse pas traîner ton fils (Clip officiel)" width="546"></iframe> (15) Toto: they saw the rain down in Africa. Here is a nine minute remix I've been using as a secret weapon in DJ sets for years: <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="404" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mDwI0DTqD_A" title="Late Nite Tuff Guy - Bless The Rains (LNTG Epic Journey)" width="539"></iframe> (16): Beaujolais Breakfast. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/84/25/8425295ea61595f6f3017b707cd27e64.jpg" /> (MISC): A pair of Converse gifted to Julie in 2021. It became a running gag that we secured our annual allocation of her wines by bringing her a pair, as they are much cheaper in the United States.  <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/f7/77/f777072acf89af35aa27cd350b5337ef.jpg" /> (MISC): Julie driving us to her Fleurie parcels in 2019. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/5e/7a/5e7a6c1be9eb1d6c8bdc84357266b45f.jpg" /> (MISC): a whirlwind of dogs and sheep encircling Denyse Louis in 2015. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/86/d1/86d10a3749622348cb281090e51ebc08.jpg" /> (MISC): The label for the 2017 one-off "Docteur Buchaille Présente Ordinaire". That vintage, Julie's microscopic yields forced her to blend her Moulin-à-Vent grapes with her Beaujolais grapes. Inspired by her amazing time in California following her invite to Brumaire in Oakland, she decided to immortalize this mashup by naming the cuvée after the Oakland wine bar Ordinaire (the joke being that it is anything but ordinary). She also included the whale tattoo Ordinaire owner Bradford Taylor has and Keven Clancy, our partner and friend at Farm Wine Imports, front and center of the label (that's him with the glasses).  <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/1b/be/1bbe24b29bd36dbd2d3a24436ca87d1e.jpg" /> (MISC): Le label for "Bella Ciao", the other 2017 cuvée in which Julie blended all of her Fleurie fruit into one wine.   From wikipedia: "Bella ciao" is an Italian protest folk song from the late 19th century, originally sung by the mondina workers in protest against the harsh working conditions in the paddy fields of Northern Italy. It is widely assumed that the mondina song was modified and adopted as an anthem of the Italian resistance movement by the partisans who opposed Nazism and fascism, and fought against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany, who were allied with the fascist and collaborationist Italian Social Republic between 1943 and 1945 during the Italian Civil War. However, historians argue that there is little to no evidence that Italian partisans actually sang the song. Versions of "Bella ciao" continue to be sung worldwide as a hymn of freedom and resistance. <img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//736/d6/28/d6280abe88edbb0492172e6e20e9c50e.jpg" />       (MISC): a video I recorded of Julie grabbing a salad in her backyard for our last dinner. I posted it on social media, to which she responded: Ainsi va la Vie!" ("such is life!") <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="560" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N9KZIbKr1XI" title="Julie in her backyard" width="320"></iframe>

interview 22.05.2019

An Interview with Julie Balagny from 2012

This interview with Julie Balagny took place at <glossary term="L'Herbe Rouge" title="568">L'Herbe Rouge</glossary> in February, 2012. Tell us about the the estate. I settled in <glossary title="454">Fleurie</glossary> in 2009. Before that I worked in the South (between <glossary title="776">Perpignan</glossary> and <glossary title="730">Nîmes</glossary>) for about 11 years. In <glossary title="776">Perpignan</glossary> I got a <glossary term="BTS" title="205">BTS</glossary> working at a larger, more "<glossary term="Chemicals" title="279">chemical</glossary>" <glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary>, where I more or less became the head of the <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary>. After that I worked at Terre des Chardons, who work <glossary title="160">biodynamically</glossary> and with simpler <glossary title="1104">vinification</glossary> practices. When I decided it was time to start my own  <glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary>, I had my mind set on either <glossary title="454">Fleurie</glossary> or in the <glossary title="560">Jura</glossary>. I was able to find my <glossary title="760">parcel</glossary> through Yvan Métras, who put me in touch with Michel Guignier. I instantly fell in love with this 3.2 <glossary title="523">hectare</glossary> <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary>, all bunched together in the middle of the woods, next to the river... The property also included 2 <glossary title="523">ha</glossary> of prairies and 3 <glossary title="523">ha</glossary> of woods, and in the spirit of working <glossary title="160">biodynamically</glossary>, I knew this was a perfect place to start a <glossary title="815">polyculture</glossary>. The vines support the woods, the woods supply the livestock, the livestock supplies the soil: everything works together, everything is coherent.  Why Fleurie or Jura? Because it's what I like to drink, because it goes down easy, because the <glossary title="1026">terroirs</glossary> are rich and complex... When you drink <glossary title="151">Beaujolais</glossary> or <glossary title="560">Jura</glossary>, you know you're drinking something unique that can't be recreated anywhere else. They're something very French about them... How did you get involved in wine? I was born and raised in Paris. As a little girl, I was fascinated with wine; I'd see my mom spending all day in the kitchen cooking, then having my dad come home with a bottle, putting it on the table: how it was just as important as the food. This marked me. I was always amazed how people took such pleasure in drinking wine, and wondered how something so magic and special could come out of a bottle.  In college I studied psychomotricity, the process of teaching basic motor skills to the mentally handicapped, and at the time it seemed like it was going to be my career. But I changed my mind!  What's the work in the vines like? My vines are all on a steep slope, and it's impossible to work <glossary title="645">mechanically</glossary>. You can't even work with a horse because he'd have no room to turn at the top and bottom of each row. So everything is done by hand, by pick and winch.  And in the cellar? Cold <glossary title="236">carbonic maceration</glossary>, no <glossary title="850">remontage</glossary>, no <glossary title="795">pigeage</glossary>. <glossary title="1124">Whole-cluster</glossary>. I have a very old <glossary title="">manual</glossary> <glossary title="935">wood press</glossary> that I use, and then I have a few <glossary title="142">barrels</glossary>.  What's it like to not have any neighbors? Also, how did the choice of making several cuvées from the same parcel come about? The choice to make different <glossary title="363">cuvées</glossary> was an obvious one: there are three different soil types that are visually evident (if you're here you can actually see the difference), and <glossary title="1104">vinifying</glossary> them separately lets me get to know my vines better. The soils are: pure <glossary title="502">granite</glossary> mixed with <glossary title="504">pebbles</glossary> and <glossary title="909">sand</glossary>, <glossary title="502">granite</glossary> and <glossary title="842">quartz</glossary> and <glossary title="502">granite</glossary> with <glossary title="145">basalt</glossary>.  How old are the vines? The youngest are 30 and the oldest are 90.  Who owned them before you? It was owned by some guy involved in <glossary title="949">sharecropping</glossary>, and the entirety of the harvest went to the <glossary title="252">cave cooperative</glossary>. They were worked <glossary term="Conventional Farming" title="331">chemically</glossary>, so they are still in <glossary title="332">conversion</glossary>.  Where do you stand on "natural wine"? I don't feel integrated in it, or feel in any way like an extremist. I think the point is to be a <glossary title="1089">vigneron</glossary>, to work with each <glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary> and to use as little <glossary title="545">intervention</glossary> as possible. A wine has to be good, and everyone has to like it. Well maybe not everybody... But at least most! I can't stand <glossary title="453">flawed</glossary>, dirty wine. If I can work <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> free, I go for it. It's not so I can say I don't work with <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary>, it's a choice based on ever changing circumstances. So far it's worked, so I do it.  Do you have any future plans for the estate?  I think it will remain as is in size. As I mentioned earlier, the real evolution I hope to achieve will come from working with livestock and the woods. If their were to be an expansion, I'd rather do it to help a young <glossary title="1089">vigneron</glossary> get started. There would be room to assist each other, to share tools, know-how and manual labor. Other than that... What do you like to drink besides Jura and Beaujolais? <glossary title="212">Burgundy</glossary>! I'm not against <glossary title="267">Champagne</glossary> either! I also love <glossary term="Alsace" title="95">Alsatian </glossary><glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary>.

producer visit 05.08.2019

This visit with Julie Balagny took place in August, 2015

This visit with Julie Balagny took place in August, 2015. Words and photos by Jules Dresssner. Julie Balagny has a new house!  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//f9/25/f925bf72edeb81c292f1baff293ffd04.jpg" /> And a new <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary>! <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//72/ef/72efd971aa8dfce4bdc9e1de7339ed29.jpg" /> There is no <glossary title="1018">temperature control</glossary> in here, but there is foosball: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//16/9f/169f62d2be94fa6542bb93aada6372f5.jpg" /> More importantly, she was able to transfer her beautiful old <glossary title="">manual</glossary> <glossary title="827">press</glossary> and <glossary title="325">concrete</glossary> <glossary title="1140">tanks</glossary> from the previous space she was renting. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//a7/af/a7affea7ffec587c4c7eb07ecf73b35d.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//2f/81/2f81418d83a7caae3f3ddfda4c4e2ce6.jpg" /> In what used to be a horse stable, a small enclave is reserved for Julie's <glossary title="142">barrel</glossary> <glossary title="74">aging</glossary>. This is for the 100+ year old vines only.  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//9b/66/9b66b1b97786104c3c68404731d3b5b4.jpg" /> For some reason, Julie has a three month old sheep called George living in her backyard.  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//b4/54/b454293c9ad9ff258f7287fc757c0ade.jpg" /> George thinks he's a dog. More on that later. On a totally unrelated note, did you know that for some reason, Converse sneakers apparently don't have the trademark™ Red-Stripe® in Europe? And cost like 60 euro? That's why I bring all our <glossary title="1089">vignerons</glossary> mint pairs upon request: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//75/41/7541b3113fdd90f61a3726560239ce85.jpg" /> After checking out the new house and bribing Julie with shoes, we sat down to  taste the 2014 "Chavot".  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//67/e3/67e3775b4827b2aa382eb6ff97eee992.jpg" /> Loving that label. Plus it was going down like Grenadine. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//f5/d8/f5d8d47f3838c64f30a5ca40688f8526.jpg" /> Oh wait, that's actually Grenadine... <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//e8/18/e8180a9ede9841730b49cb1fd9b6260e.jpg" /> Hey, at least it's <glossary title="746">organic</glossary>... Ok, ok, this is what "Chavot" actually looks like: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//aa/f1/aaf1519274561755910fd317a4112c5c.jpg" /> "Chavot", for those who have been following Julie’s past releases, is a <glossary term="Blend" title="168">blend</glossary> of 30 year old vines on <glossary title="145">basalt</glossary> that occasionally produce "Cayenne" and 40-70 year old vines on decomposed and solid <glossary title="502">granite</glossary> that occasionally produce "En Simone". For a reminder of what Julie's magnificent <glossary title="454">Fleurie</glossary> parcel looks like, reread my recap from three years ago.  The wine needed a moment to open up, but when it did it had deep and subtle berry tones on the nose and <glossary title="756">palate</glossary>, with spicy structure and a long <glossary title="450">finish</glossary>. It was so good it made Zaggy get the crazy eyes. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//cb/e4/cbe4ddc4ad170847a5a94b9f10d632bf.jpg" /> "Chavot" is named after the village drunk, Bruno Chavot. He would always be hammered and making a fool of himself, so it became insider slang to use his last name as a verb after a big night of drinking.  "You were so Chavot last night" "I love getting Chavoed while tailgating at the Giants game."  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//9b/4b/9b4b9c07c1aa0e8ee56a4edf15c9d64a.jpg" /> For the record, no one at LDM wines has ever been to a tailgate. EVER. Also, Bruno Chavot just moved back in with his mom at 55 years old.  Moving on... The big news for Julie is that she has acquired a <glossary title="523">hectare</glossary> of 40 year old <glossary title="108">AOC </glossary><glossary term="Beaujolais (Appellation)" title="1310">Beaujolais</glossary> between <glossary title="454">Fleurie</glossary> and Vornard, as well as 70 <glossary term="Are" title="1208">ares</glossary> of <glossary title="691">Moulin-a-Vent</glossary>! And we visited both! We started at the <glossary title="691">Moulin-à-Vent</glossary> parcel. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//73/92/73927ed1f347aabf1e9c166495d4fc36.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//a6/d1/a6d1a67fa8241b13e5c13a35ca098b6f.jpg" /> As you can see, it's quite steep. The soils here are decomposed <glossary title="502">granite</glossary> with fat chunks to go around as well: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//48/e8/48e87364570410e8310c3099501eea7f.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//92/07/92074f2cb689ce1debc90cfab2791246.jpg" /> The vines here are pretty old, all over 50: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//5c/04/5c0480cfe9622a53da519c5b3e382635.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//f2/fb/f2fbc90f2f468dc4d40aad88f573d64e.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//f5/af/f5afde603de8dd107ba7e301be0ffa72.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//b6/39/b6395954adcecf4f0205f8f137321116.jpg" /> A northwest <glossary title="430">exposition</glossary> and constant winds are, according to Julie, favorable to elegant, fresh wines. Though she is surrounded by <glossary title="331">conventional farming</glossary>, the <glossary title="760">parcel</glossary> borders a large ravine so it's not too bad for second hand <glossary term="Chemicals" title="279">chemical</glossary> residue.  France went through a serious heat wave in 2015. Check out how dried all of this looks: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//04/42/04426cb9a6aa7e15b2efdc1fe006a54f.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//c3/66/c36650f49200007f3391d25e79ce7745.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//1c/8c/1c8c87fd80e3a2a443319668a0b070f5.jpg" /> By now, we know that after almost three months of no rain, August showers saved the day for most of France. OUUFF! Next we visited the <glossary term="Beaujolais (Appellation)" title="1310">Beaujolais</glossary> <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary>: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//54/d6/54d612ca6dac305d834ffe9c146e3e45.jpg" /> The hill you can spot in the back is <glossary title="559">Juliénas</glossary>. The soil here consists of <glossary title="301">clay</glossary>, <glossary title="504">pebbles</glossary> and <glossary title="909">sand</glossary>. As we walked around, Julie started ripping out these big plants from the ground: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//e5/ad/e5ad9ffef74d45755f4f897db0d3f728.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//2f/84/2f841c3734b5a3ad25a082d32989aaab.jpg" /> “When you stop using <glossary title="526">herbicides</glossary>, the plants that inevitably come back are erigerons and morelle noire." <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//e4/bb/e4bba47d88bc1faf9aee070d67d4ced9.jpg" /> They two plants are hyper-invasive because they produce a ton of seeds.  Upon returning to the vines, we sat down to  taste a "Cayenne" 2013, a wine that never made it stateside. All of a sudden, George decided to show up! <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//23/96/239640da0acdc7545cfdb8503dbc044c.jpg" /> I guess George thinks he's a dog, because started sniffing all the other dogs' butts (as dogs do) and playing with them. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//d8/5b/d85b6ec6a5845024ed46b1b31e576bc1.jpg" /> Our dog Zaggy is terrified of everything, including sheep. She scurried away into the house while Denyse distracted George and Harrison.  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//23/0a/230aac6566f0b019cb2ae077a2602d3e.jpg" /> When we sat down to finish the wine, George came under the table with the rest of the gang.

producer visit 05.08.2019

This visit with Julie Balagny took place in June, 2012

This visit with Julie Balagny took place in June, 2012. Words by Jules Dressner, photos by Maya Pedersen. Julie Balagny lives in the Hauts De Poncié, a <glossary title="519">hamlet</glossary> on the very top of <glossary title="454">Fleurie</glossary>. Her house sits on the top of a hill. She has no neighbors, as the house is completely surrounded by vines (that are not hers). <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//b5/43/b543602e25308a5b4ed6452922c32545.jpg" /> After Julie greeted us, we got to meet her pet rabbit Wiggles.  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//18/42/1842bf237ef1d4b681893ba5804192c6.jpg" /> We were parched, so Julie offered to cool us down with this delicious rasberry nectar from Patrick Font.  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//56/4c/564c30e15f5717896f7ae69a5ee93205.jpg" /> It was a good time to talk about how 2012 was going. Julie was spared from <glossary term="Hail" title="1136">hail</glossary>, but has been getting an average of 30-40mm of rain per week. She suffered a little <glossary term="Frost" title="1135">frost</glossary> damage, but nothing serious. As far as 2011, it was a great <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary> quantity wise, but she suffered a few setbacks. Basically, she wanted to help two local new guys out, so she let them <glossary title="1104">vinify</glossary> their <glossary title="521">harvests</glossary> in the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary> that she rents. Unfortunately, their inexperience led to some poor decisions, creating microbiological issues in the <glossary title="1140">tanks</glossary>. Barely dodging a bullet, Julie was able to salvage her wine with some quick <glossary title="843">re-racking</glossary>, and this improvised move forced her to consolidate some of the juices, thus affecting her usual lineup of <glossary title="363">cuvées</glossary>. 2011 will birth a new, perhaps one-off bottling called "Carioca". It should be <glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottled</glossary> in late August/early September. The "Simone" <glossary term="Cuvée" title="363">cuvée</glossary> will be <glossary title="74">aged</glossary> even longer than usual.  After sipping on nectar and talking shop, it was time to hop into the 4x4 and check out the vines. Over the six kilometer drive to get there, Julie pointed out some vines that are part of new fad sweeping the <glossary title="151">Beaujolais</glossary>: ripping out one in six rows to make more room for a large tractor to spread (<glossary term="Chemicals" title="279">chemical</glossary>) treatments over the remaining five. Because of its horrible reputation in France, the <glossary term="Beaujolais" title="151">Beaujolais</glossary> is really struggling; the only people investing on a large scale are bigger companies who are quickly buying up large portions of land. In the process, they are furthering the <glossary title="645">mechanization</glossary> of the local <glossary title="1103">viticultural</glossary> landscape. We also passed by an abandoned <glossary title="760">parcel</glossary> where the owners had killed all the vines with <glossary term="Roundup" title="877">Roundup</glossary>.  "It's obviously completely illegal, but it's a lot cheaper than ripping them out." After getting out of the village and maneuvering through some isolated paths through the woods, you find yourself in Julie's completely isolated <glossary title="305">clos</glossary> of 3,2 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> at 510 meters in altitude. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//0e/7b/0e7b82a70642303e26efcad9997d8e4b.jpg" /> Julie is about to add fences around the vines to keep wild animals out. She is also working on setting up a field for her cows and sheep to graze. This is part of a long term plan to create <glossary title="">biodiversity</glossary> around her vineyards via <glossary title="815">polyculture</glossary>. As she explained in her <a href="http://louisdressner.com/articles/julie-balagny-interview/">interview</a>: "The property also included 2 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">ha</glossary> of prairies and 3 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">ha</glossary> of woods; in the spirit of working <glossary title="160">biodynamically</glossary>, I knew this was a perfect place to start a <glossary title="815">polyculture</glossary>. The vines support the woods, the woods supply the livestock, the livestock supplies the soil: everything works together, everything is coherent."  There is no <glossary title="1044">treillisage</glossary>; everything has remained in traditional <glossary title="497">goblet</glossary> <glossary title="1039">training</glossary>. The youngest vines are 30: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//1c/45/1c455a2cc5d11bcf6b1d5a7edef123f9.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//1a/e1/1ae1b0b073cd21189f0e33041d82ebb1.jpg" /> The oldest are 90:  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//2d/73/2d73040b40677b8cbf53496a4b9ca820.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//e1/e2/e1e2280ef5785572c4f8f1ea4c4dcd1a.jpg" /> Though all the vines are in one place, there are three distinct soil types. Here's some <glossary title="502">granite</glossary> and <glossary title="842">quartz</glossary>: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//47/95/4795ab343295cc167374a026e7e312c7.jpg" /> And here's some <glossary title="502">granite</glossary> mixed with <glossary title="145">basalt</glossary>: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//1b/74/1b74ebe964f2526d421a3d585f237703.jpg" /> The <glossary term="-Select term-" title="">old vines</glossary> in these soils are what end up in the "Simone" <glossary title="363">cuvée</glossary>. The vines are on a <glossary title="345">coteau</glossary> that progressively increases in steepness, making any <glossary title="645">mechanical</glossary> work impossible. By the time you get to the top, you're almost at a 60% incline: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//e0/bc/e0bcf61f6ce491ade6e525c1a6d558cc.jpg" /> To work the soils, Julie has devised a system with this winch.  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//cd/b2/cdb205d50d6c9035602c338ba6124986.jpg" /> She attaches it to this truck: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//68/45/6845cd6cf745f69af3f467e4bb56e8f1.jpg" /> A mechanism then pulls it up as it plows through the soil. She then walks it all the way down through the next row, where she starts all over again.  Before tasting in the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary>, Julie wanted us visit her sheep that will eventually live next to the vines.  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//93/4c/934c369d4088cab32b51eab171f4aec4.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//61/cb/61cbf974e615ff1621dca64a5d23a0de.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//22/02/2202b7dada357c4e5aef32caab0ed9d2.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//3b/eb/3beb91b0182cca9f1bcf936c6783d7b4.jpg" /> After visiting the vines, we checked out the <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary>, just a few kilometers away. Here we got to check out Julie's old school <glossary title="935">wood press</glossary>.  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//b5/b8/b5b864787d9655179d197a0d0dbaccaf.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//24/ce/24ce1572c4ccb81f9eff1c5c6175de43.jpg" /> That <glossary title="142">barrel</glossary> on it is just there to save space. We got to taste the "Carioca": it was fruity, fresh and easy, but the extra <glossary term="Aging" title="74">aging</glossary> provided some <glossary title="990">structure</glossary>. It had a red fruit <glossary title="450">finish</glossary> and nice <glossary term="Acidity" title="71">acidity</glossary>. The "Jean Barat" and "Simone" (from <glossary title="142">barrel</glossary>) were also well on their way; they were both <glossary title="990">structured</glossary> but fresh. Julie might have had a tough time with <glossary title="1104">vinification</glossary> setbacks, but the wines are GOOD. In the end, she is thankful for the experience.  "I learned a valuable lesson, which is that you need to be patient with wine, to let it make itself."

producer profile 31.05.2019

Julie Balagny Producer Profile

article 07.07.2023

Remembering Our Friend Julie Balagny

interview 22.05.2019

An Interview with Julie Balagny from 2012

producer visit 05.08.2019

This visit with Julie Balagny took place in August, 2015