Dard & Ribo

Crozes-Hermitage and Saint Joseph from Dard & Ribo

Dard & Ribo Producer Profile

Quick Facts

Name of Estate	Dard & Ribo
Region	Rhône
Country	France
Proprietor	René-Jean Dard and François Ribo
Size	8.5 hectares
Farming	Organic (Not Certified)
Soils	Granite, clay, sand, limestone, kaolin
Grapes grown	Syrah, Marsanne, Roussanne
Fun facts	These legends of natural wine were part of the first generation of dedicated sans-souffre winemakers in the early 90's.

These legends of natural wine were part of the first generation of dedicated sans-souffre winemakers in the early 90's.

Name of Estate	Dard & Ribo
Region	Rhône
Country	France
Proprietor	René-Jean Dard and François Ribo
Size	8.5 hectares
Farming	Organic (Not Certified)
Soils	Granite, clay, sand, limestone, kaolin
Grapes grown	Syrah, Marsanne, Roussanne
Fun facts	These legends of natural wine were part of the first generation of dedicated sans-souffre winemakers in the early 90's.

Get to know
Dard & Ribo

producer profile 03.06.2019

Dard & Ribo Producer Profile

René-Jean Dard and François Ribo started their <glossary title="427">estate</glossary> in 1983 in a back street of <glossary title="1007">Tain-l’Hermitage</glossary>. There was about a <glossary title="523">hectare</glossary> from Dard’s family, all the rest was rented or slowly acquired over the years. Born in the towns that face each other across the <glossary title="856">Rhône River</glossary>, <glossary title="1037">Tournon</glossary> in the <glossary title="117">Ardèche</glossary> and <glossary title="1007">Tain-l’Hermitage</glossary> in the <glossary title="407">Drôme</glossary>, Dard and Ribo met in wine school in <glossary title="154">Beaune</glossary> in their late teens. They work 8.5 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of vines scattered over seven villages, with most of their holdings in <glossary title="360">Crozes-Hermitage</glossary>, some in <glossary title="888">Saint-Joseph</glossary> and a slice of <glossary title="527">Hermitage</glossary>. In their <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary>, part of a large farm building in the <glossary title="519">hamlet</glossary> of Blanche-Laine in <glossary title="649">Mercurol</glossary>, they craft subtle, <glossary title="433">unextracted</glossary> <glossary title="1001">Syrah</glossary> for immediate enjoyment (though the wines age beautifully) and several whites from <glossary title="878">Roussanne</glossary> and <glossary title="634">Marsanne</glossary>. “What we like is <glossary title="708">natural wine</glossary> because it’s alive, wine that does not necessarily have to be kept – just drunk and drunk again.” (François Ribo, quoted in John Livingstone-Learmonth’s The Wines of the Northern <glossary title="1209">Rhône</glossary> , p.382) What is different with them is that they view <glossary title="1001">Syrah</glossary> as a grape giving elegant and pleasant wines, rather than sturdy, big, <glossary title="1010">tannic</glossary> wines. They want their wines to taste well quickly, not after years of cellaring to dissipate hard <glossary title="1010">tannins</glossary>. They even make a <glossary title="363">cuvée</glossary> called “C’est le Printemps” that is released in the Spring following the <glossary title="521">harvest</glossary>, almost like a nouveau of <glossary title="1001">Syrah</glossary>. They tend to <glossary title="1104">vinify</glossary> by <glossary title="1133">plot</glossary>, because they have such a wide variety of <glossary title="1026">terroir</glossary> and vine ages. Among the regular <glossary title="363">cuvées</glossary> is a <glossary title="360">Crozes-Hermitage</glossary> red from <glossary title="1133">plots</glossary> located mainly in <glossary title="581">Larnage</glossary>, on red <glossary title="301">clay</glossary> with <glossary title="504">gravel</glossary> and <glossary title="93">alluvial</glossary> stones. The white <glossary title="">Crozes</glossary> is a <glossary title="168">blend</glossary> of <glossary title="878">Roussanne</glossary> and <glossary title="634">Marsanne</glossary> planted on a mix of glacial <glossary title="93">alluvial</glossary> deposits, rolled stones and red <glossary title="301">clay</glossary>. The <glossary title="888">Saint-Joseph</glossary> red comes from different <glossary title="1133">plots</glossary> of <glossary title="909">sandy</glossary> <glossary title="502">granite</glossary>, red <glossary title="301">clay</glossary> and gore (decomposed <glossary title="502">granite</glossary>). The <glossary title="888">St-Jo</glossary> white is only <glossary title="878">Roussanne</glossary>, an exception in an <glossary title="108">AOC</glossary> where <glossary title="634">Marsanne</glossary> dominates. The "spéciales" <glossary title="363">cuvées</glossary> are all <glossary title="959">single vineyards bottlings</glossary> and, with a few exceptions, are not necessarily released each <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary> (in which case they are added to the "basic" <glossary title="168">blend</glossary>). These include the <glossary title="360">Crozes</glossary> "Les Bâties" from two <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> in red <glossary title="301">clay</glossary>, the <glossary title="360">Crozes</glossary> "Pé de Loup" from a soil of white <glossary title="504">gravel</glossary> with <glossary title="563">kaolin</glossary> (white <glossary title="301">clay</glossary>), the white <glossary title="360">Crozes</glossary> "Les Karrières" from very old <glossary title="634">Marsanne</glossary> growing on <glossary title="563">kaolin</glossary>. From <glossary title="888">Saint-Joseph</glossary>, the <glossary title="363">cuvée</glossary> "Pitrou", made from late-picked <glossary title="878">Roussanne</glossary> when the season is right, and the grapes <glossary title="324">concentrate</glossary> to a <glossary title="1129">yield</glossary> of 20<glossary title="528">HL/HA </glossary>(a small amout of red "Pitrou" has occasionally been released in some <glossary title="1109">vintages</glossary>). If the weather is not exceptional, these grapes go into the regular white <glossary title="888">St-Jo</glossary>.

interview 03.06.2019

An Interview with René-Jean Dard from 2015

This interview with René-Jean Dard took place in his cellar in August, 2015. Tell us about your estate. Dard & Ribo is starting to get old! We officially started the <glossary title="427">estate</glossary> together in 1983, but François (Ribo) and I have been working together since 1980. I started making wine in 1975, after inheriting my father’s vines following his death.  We started out with very little land. My father’s vines represented about an <glossary title="523">hectare</glossary> of <glossary title="888">Saint-Joseph</glossary>. But we got lucky and almost immediately found 3000 meters of <glossary title="527">Hermitage</glossary> and 5000 meters of <glossary title="360">Crozes-Hermitage</glossary>, so that was the beginning.  Your father was a vigneron?  He was not. He had vines, but it was essentially for personal consumption. Though he sold a bit to his friends.  So how did you get interested in viticulture? My dad did this as a side project. He died when I was 15, and I just decided to keep doing it. I was still going to school, playing sports and doing things a normal 15 year old does, but I always took care of that bit of land and made wine from it. It was about an <glossary title="523">hectare</glossary>.  Did you know François back then?  No, we met later in life. At the time I never thought this would become my job. It was after finishing my baccalaureate that a professor I’d become friends proposed I become a <glossary title="1089">vigneron</glossary>. So I left to <glossary title="391">Dijon</glossary> to study <glossary title="422">oenology</glossary>, but I found it quite boring.  So I went to <glossary title="154">Beaune</glossary> instead to study a more practical program, and that’s where I met François. We instantly hit it off and became friends. He also started helping me in my vines, and from there we decided to partner up.  Is he a local? Yes. You were saying you got lucky finding the land you started with. Could this be possible today? It’s difficult now, mostly because the prices for land have really risen. I can’t imagine a young <glossary title="1089">vigneron</glossary> starting from scratch like we did in today’s climate.  So how big is the estate now? We’re at about 8.5 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of vines. About four <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of <glossary title="360">Crozes-Hermitage</glossary>, two or three <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of <glossary title="">Saint-Joseph</glossary> and some <glossary title="527">Hermitage</glossary>. I’m not really sure of the exact amount of land, that’s more François’s thing. Oh, and each <glossary title="108">AOC</glossary> produces reds and whites.  You mentioned earlier that you grow a lot of white grapes for the region. Is this a coincidence? No. We planted a lot of whites because we like white wine. But it really helped that from a very early point, our whites were very popular and well received. It's what our clients were looking for, and since the region is only about 10% white, we decided to create a niche for ourselves with white wine. Our <glossary title="427">estate</glossary> is about 35% white wines, which is a lot for the region.  How did your work philosophy over the years develop in the vines and the cellar? When we started, we weren’t working <glossary title="746">organically</glossary> in the vines. But I’ve been making <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary>-free wines since I was 15. I didn’t even know you could add <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> to wine until going to <glossary title="422">oenology</glossary> school! "You have to", they said! My dad never <glossary title="993">sulfured</glossary> the wines and I basically just followed in his footsteps.  My first year with François, we made wine the way we were taught to in school and knew that this was not our style. It did not interest us. So the reflection in our work actually began through <glossary title="1104">vinification</glossary>: what we had been taught in school vs. what my father always did. From there, we started working in what we considered to be the old-school, local way of making wine, and this eventually led us to reconsider our vineyard practices. But it wasn’t a complete 180, and took some time. Can you elaborate?  We liked the idea of working naturally in the vines, but the reality of <glossary title="332">converting</glossary> everything was extremely daunting at first. We have a lot of very steep <glossary title="345">coteaux</glossary>, and the learning curve is much higher than working <glossary title="746">organically</glossary> on flatland.  We are obviously of the philosophy that the less you pollute, the better the situation. But our goal has always been to make the best wine possible. And the only way to do that is to be clean in the vineyards. It’s as simple as that.  So who were your first clients?  We always made wine that we liked to drink. It might sound selfish, but we never thought about what our customers would think about the wines. It was about what we liked, and we were lucky in finding great clients that shared our taste.  Again, this was luck and good timing. We happened to start our <glossary title="427">estate</glossary> right when the first <glossary title="708">natural wine</glossary> bars were popping up in  <glossary title="761">Paris</glossary>. In fact, the term <glossary title="708">natural wine</glossary> didn’t exist back then, and our style of wine was simply called "<glossary title="913">sans souffre</glossary>" (<glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> free).  We were on the scene in <glossary title="761">Paris</glossary> as early as 1985, but back then there were only a handful of places. We were a tiny  <glossary title="427">estate</glossary>, so even four good customers was enough. But then we were fortunate enough to grow side by side with Paris’ <glossary title="708">natural wine</glossary> scene; once there were 10 places we happened to get an extra <glossary title="523">hectare</glossary>, and when there were 20 we grew some more...  For a very long time, we sold 70 to 90% of our production to <glossary title="761">Paris</glossary> in these types of establishments. This very small hub eventually began to expand, and with that business we were able to up our production. It was completely natural in its progression. So now we import wine to 17 countries. Even though the <glossary title="708">natural wine</glossary> movement has spread worldwide, it’s still a niche and we still remain a small <glossary title="427">estate</glossary>. You talk about the global popularity of these types wines today, but you must have been rather isolated in your early years. Completely isolated. In fact we’re still kind of isolated in the region! François and I have faced countless instances of backlash from neighboring <glossary title="1089">vignerons</glossary>, from customs, the repressions des fraudes (ed note: an office in France that focuses on fraud) and by syndicates like <glossary title="544">InterRhône</glossary>. Honestly, this still continues to this day.  Yet you still stick to the appellation system?  I’ll admit that we are still attached to our <glossary title="113">appellations</glossary>. It’s a unique place we work in and it would be sad to not let people know where the wine is from. Our job is to bring the <glossary title="1026">terroir</glossary> into the bottle, and that <glossary title="1026">terroir</glossary> has a name. So I want it on the bottle.  I’m not critiquing producers that intentionally <glossary title="383">declassify</glossary> their wines. In fact there are moments where we should have done the same. But it can get complicated: if everyone is making <glossary title="1092">Vin de France</glossary>, how do you know where anything is from? I guess that’s partly the responsibility of importers, restaurants and retailers now. It’s a different context.  Today, <glossary title="708">natural wine</glossary> is recognized in the entire world. You can sell just by the fact that you make <glossary title="708">natural wine</glossary> and that your name is so and so. But 20, 30 years ago, if you brought in a <glossary title="1006">Vin de Table</glossary> to a restaurant at the price of a  <glossary title="888">Saint-Joseph</glossary>, the owner still had to sell a <glossary title="1006">Vin de Table</glossary> at the price of a <glossary title="888">Saint-Joseph</glossary>. Customers back then could not accept paying so much for table wine.  Did any wines along the way shape your feelings about how it should be made? When François and I were young, we were obsessed with tasting wine. We would get bottles from the four corners of France, do blind tastings and just discuss our impressions. As far as wines without <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary>, there weren’t many people making them.  What about meeting like-minded vignerons? We’d basically only see them in Paris. Even in the early days, there were small groups who promoted <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary>-free winemaking but we never participated in any. We’ve always kept our distance. Obviously, today we are more known so we get out a little more to shake hands.  But you guys don’t do any tasting events right? We don’t. If we are known today, it’s only because of our wines. Very few people actually know what René-Jean Dard and François Ribo look like. Getting to the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary> is pretty complicated, and we almost never accept appointments (ed note: I guess we’re lucky!) We don’t feel our job is to do sales.   We sell 3% of our wines to consumers, so their is no incentive to have them visit us. But I’m not saying we do commerce! We just do it differently, by visiting our customers, having dinner or a glass at their places. Sometimes (very rarely!) we’ll visit another country. We’ve never been to the US though.  Whenever you want to come to the States, we’ll be happy. One day! I’ll give you a burger tour.  I dream of eating a good, real burger. I’ve never truly understood them, because they are terrible in France.  Getting back on track: did meeting any of these like-minded vignerons affirm or confirm anything? Did it influence your work? It confirmed that this was in fact a different way of making wine that worked. None of these guys were from our region though, so it was hard to compare techniques. There were producers from <glossary title="151">Beaujolais</glossary>, <glossary title="95">Alsace</glossary>, the <glossary title="602">Loire</glossary>, the lower ends of the <glossary title="372">Côtes du Rhône</glossary>, <glossary title="134">Bandol</glossary>... But most were from the  <glossary title="151">Beaujolais</glossary>, and since we never used <glossary title="236">carbonic maceration</glossary>, it was difficult having <glossary title="1104">vinification</glossary> discussions. It was more about just general ideas, and drinking good bottles together.  You’ve been using synthetic corks for a while. What prompted that decision? Not to name them, but we started using Nomacorcs in 2002. Without getting too much into it, traditional <glossary title="336">corks</glossary> are a huge rip-off. They look like cork, they have the color of <glossary title="336">cork</glossary>, they feel like <glossary title="">cork</glossary> but the truth is that the actual <glossary title="336">cork</glossary> is only in the middle. The edge of the <glossary title="336">cork</glossary> is painted and treated chemically. Yes, there are real, 100% <glossary title="336">corks</glossary> but they cost a fortune. We decided fuck it, let’s pass to plastic. We also chose to have black ones to make a statement: we are definitely using plastic and not trying to trick you that's it's <glossary title="336">cork</glossary>. We did some experiments in 2002, and in 2003 all of our wines were <glossary title="185">bottled</glossary> with black, plastic <glossary title="336">corks</glossary>. We find it efficient.  I drank a 2006 Les Champs the other day and it was delicious. People often say wines can’t evolve with synthetic corks... They are not completely wrong. But the principal passage of oxygen into a bottle, which in turn brings evolution to the wine, doesn’t go through the <glossary title="336">cork</glossary>: it goes through the space between the <glossary title="336">cork</glossary> and the glass. The current models of plastic <glossary title="336">corks</glossary> have been thoroughly designed with this in mind. The <glossary title="336">corks</glossary> we use have the exact same exchange rate as a traditional one.  We taste our wines, see them evolve and still taste great. And we don’t have to worry about <glossary title="337">corked wine</glossary> or leaky, stained <glossary title="336">corks</glossary>.  I’ve heard rumors that you intentionally print our importation backlabel upside down because that way the only way to read it is once you’ve finished the bottle. Is this true? Actually it’s because we bought the roller in the wrong side. We’ve have to manually roll everything to get it the right way, so we just end up having them upside down. We’re a little lazy is all! In the interminable debate about natural, where do you stand? I ask because you are one of the most seminal, often cited producers from the early days of this movement.  Overall I am very happy, because it simply means there are more drinkable wines. The problem, of course, is that there is a lot of hideous stuff out there as well. A lot of people are hiding behind the word "natural" to escape criticism from their lack of serious work in the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary>. The wines are jam packed with <glossary title="1116">volatility</glossary>, they are muddled and murky; that's not wine. Just because you didn’t do anything to the wine doesn’t mean it's good.  Making "<glossary title="708">natural wine</glossary>" should not be a goal unto itself. It should be a tool to make qualitatively superior wine. At Dard & Ribo, our goal is not to put a label on our wine so it sells easily. We want to make the best wine possible, and have come to the conclusion that this is the way to do it. We want to make wine that is easy to drink and doesn’t give you a headache.  So when a wine is prickly and sour, don’t tell me: "Oh that’s because I’m natural." But at the same time, it’s hard to criticize these extremists, because conventional <glossary title="1089">vignerons</glossary> have been acting like such jack-asses for so long that I almost want to root for these guys. You guys didn’t have any issues in your early days? OUUH LA LA! We had every problem imaginable! We’ve made wine with bubbles. We’ve make wine that was so <glossary title="847">reductive</glossary> it was undrinkable. The fact is that when you make wine like this, it’s alive: if the sugars don’t finish, or who knows what you can be in serious trouble. But this forced us to reflect on our errors and to me much more careful in the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary>. And it’s still a constant challenge for us! The truth is that <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> is the <glossary title="1089">vigneron’s</glossary> sleeping aid: you put that in the bottle and everything stays put! Us on the other hand, it’s constant sleepless nights! But it’s the risk you take.  What do you like to drink? I love beer and sake. I still love wine of course!

producer visit 22.07.2019

This visit to Dard & Ribo took place in June, 2012

This visit at Dard & Ribo took place in June, 2012. Words by Jules Dressner, photos by Maya Pedersen. Driving over to the <glossary term="Commune" title="322">commune</glossary> of <glossary title="649">Mercurol</glossary>, we ended up getting there really early and decided to visit the neighboring towns of <glossary title="1037">Tournon</glossary> and <glossary title="1007">Tain-L'Hermitage</glossary>. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//b3/cb/b3cb72e15eecd33b436db042a933f1ed.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//eb/a6/eba605b0e31790ae29966e5d73ac8326.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//c0/9e/c09ef6e4e1e543a052ac603eded268f0.jpg" /> The two towns are separated by the <glossary title="856">Rhône river</glossary>, but you can walk across the bridge pictured above in five minutes. The river also separates two departments: <glossary title="1037">Tournon</glossary> is in <glossary title="117">Ardèche</glossary> (where René-Jean Dard was born) and <glossary title="1007">Tain-l'Hermitage</glossary> is in the <glossary title="407">Drôme</glossary> (where François Ribo is from). As you can see, <glossary title="1007">Tain-l'Hermitage</glossary> has a great view on some of the steepiest, best placed <glossary title="527">Hermitage</glossary> vines. The main drags are very touristy, but getting lost in the little side streets was a lot of fun. We also saw this very strange Kebab place: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//34/91/34914f3077281d0c0ce9303158511589.jpg" /> "Hygiene, Quality, Service". MMMMMMMM, appetizing!  The <glossary title="117">Ardèche</glossary> is also a huge player in French apricot production, and this time of the year is the peak of the season: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//4c/a5/4ca5838792e74e900a8958d1200cff73.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//a7/58/a758617541284af8fb75371a1583ac9c.jpg" /> After killing some time, we set off to the small village of <glossary title="167">Blanche-Laine</glossary>, where Dard & Ribo have their <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary>. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//9e/64/9e646d2e65e85410f6445adef3b17275.jpg" /> In the eight or so years we've worked with these guys, no one has ever met François Ribo; René-Jean takes care of everything on our side of things, and apparently François does the same for certain customers. So, you guessed it, René-Jean was our host. I would describe him as a lovable grump: he grumbled about us visiting on a Sunday ("and the day after the 14th of July!"), but then spent five hours carefully showing us the vines and tasting through the 2011's. He likes to complain a lot, but it's always with a hint of amusement; he also has a great sense of humor and would be a shoe-in as a New Yorker. He's actually never been to the U.S, and says the only reason he would come is to have a "real American burger". The first vineyard we visited was a parcel of <glossary title="527">Hermitage</glossary>. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//79/5b/795b40672b91ee987b6cbd58cbfcdd9a.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//f7/f3/f7f39dae0fb2f5de7c3fb2917f63e90c.jpg" /> <glossary title="878">Roussanne</glossary>, <glossary title="634">Marsanne</glossary> and <glossary title="1001">Syrah</glossary> are co-planted together here. And while the <glossary title="634">Marsanne</glossary> and <glossary title="878">Roussane</glossary> are a bit hard to distinguish from one another, René-Jean grabbed some leaves to show how to easily spot the vines of red (left) and white (right). <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//1c/2c/1c2cbb04f40ad836fa9e2fd6be24e420.jpg" /> Besides size, the white vines' leaves are more undulated, and their "butts cross"... Their <glossary title="360">Crozes-Hermitage</glossary> vines are at the very edge of the <glossary title="113">appellation</glossary>. They are 20 years old, and were planted by René-Jean and François; when they took over in 1984, the preexisting vines were nearly 100 and unproductive. They ripped them out but were still able to get some <glossary title="941">selection massales</glossary> out of them, which is what was replanted. This particular <glossary title="760">parcel</glossary> is one of many (but not all) that François works with a cable pulley and horse. The soils are deep, <glossary term="Granite" title="502">granitic</glossary> <glossary term="Sand" title="909">sand</glossary>.  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//33/df/33df5dda7cf40d60009ea524cae57478.jpg" /> The way they acquired this <glossary title="760">parcel</glossary> is a cool story. Both the guys were participating in a traditional night of singing and dancing, with the party constantly moving from farm to farm. At around 2 AM, they found themselves drinking at an old farmer's house. In passing, he mentioned his imminent retirement and how he was hoping to sell his vines. Hungover, they woke up early the next morning to sign a contract with him. No one could understand why the guy was so adamant about selling his vines to two young nobodies who were just getting started, but he must of seen something special. We also spotted some vines René-Jean is picking out his <glossary title="941">massales</glossary> for replanting: <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//44/dc/44dce3415cb8d785041d7e9f391bc6d8.jpg" /> Even in the Northern <glossary title="1209">Rhône</glossary>, there has been a lot of rain this year and therefore a lot of illness. This has forced them to do more <glossary title="328">treatments</glossary> than usual. At the time of our visit, they'd done five, but most in the region were well above 15. They were also hit with <glossary title="1136">hail</glossary> three times, which did some damage. Our next stop was at les Karrières. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//b4/be/b4bea29abfb46f0c3ce89534f5a11bc8.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//e6/82/e6829040839724f86d4a311441c601c3.jpg" /> This <glossary title="760">parcel</glossary> has the particularity of being on <glossary title="563">kaolinite</glossary> soils. This is the same <glossary title="301">clay</glossary> that is used to make porcelain, and just a few minutes from the vines, <glossary title="563">kaolinite</glossary> is mined for just that. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//4e/00/4e0081d0859507b8bb4d7e7a46a38acc.jpg" /> We also checked out a <glossary title="760">parcel</glossary> in <glossary title="360">Crozes-Hermitage</glossary> called les Bâties.  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//6b/69/6b6930b55b6d1fa8b659c00e88a1e9bf.jpg" /> Over the course of the visit, René-Jean kept bringing up his constant struggles with <glossary title="544">Inter-Rhône</glossary>, an organisation designed to promote every aspect of wine in the region from A to Z. They claim to exist in order to maintain a certain quality in the vineyards and in the  <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary>, but according to what René-Jean told us, it seems like little more than a legal, administrative imposition of laws and regulations attempting to uniform an entire (rather large) region. The latest incident: Dard & Ribo recently got a 17 euro fine for letting too much grass grow... "You need to let it grow when it rains this much. If you work the soils, you spread more illness."  But this is only a minor offense. Recently, the Dard & Ribo wines were tasted by an <glossary title="544">Inter-Rhône</glossary> panel who told them their wines were deviant and atypical, and now they're busting their chops about the winemaking, trying to send a guy over there to see what they're up to. This from the same institution that allows <glossary title="270">chaptalisation</glossary>, <glossary title="70">acidification</glossary>, and just passed the use of <glossary title="1125">wood chips</glossary>!  Unrelated but just as ridiculous, the <glossary title="252">cave cooperative</glossary> of <glossary title="1007">Tain</glossary> just <glossary term="Conversion" title="332">converted</glossary> to <glossary title="746">organics</glossary>, so they called François to tell him "watch what you're putting in the vines" so it wouldn't overlap into theirs. I guess they didn't know Dard & Ribo have been working <glossary title="746">organically</glossary> since the 80's... "But they never called us to tell us: hey we're using <glossary title="279">chemicals</glossary>. Watch out!" The same <glossary term="Cave Cooperative" title="252">cave cooperative</glossary> later got mad because the <glossary term="AOC" title="108">AOC</glossary><glossary title="108"> </glossary>forbade them from spraying the <glossary title="746">organic</glossary> <glossary title="328">treatments</glossary> via helicopter.  <glossary title="360">Crozes-Hermitage</glossary> factoid: did you know that 70% of <glossary title="360">Crozes-Hermitage's</glossary> vineyards are on flat land? In fact, up until fairly recently it was used as a bistro wine served at the counter. Traditional <glossary term="Crozes-Hermitage" title="360">Crozes</glossary> red was always light and pleasant, but in an effort to build up the region's reputation, many <glossary title="1089">vignerons</glossary> began making fuller-bodied, more <glossary term="Extraction" title="433">extracted</glossary> and heavily <glossary term="Oaked" title="732">oaked</glossary> <glossary title="185">bottlings</glossary>.  "<glossary term="Crozes-Hermitage" title="360">Crozes</glossary> was never meant to be a serious wine. It's supposed to be easy to drink." In the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary>, we got to taste all the 2011's.  <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//cb/8c/cb8c9b96be5598ce7e81eecd2c6bf174.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//10/69/10699401a736c05cd2d141e965b7f6d4.jpg" /> As many of you know, Dard & Ribo are amongst the pioneers of <glossary title="913">sans-souffre</glossary> winemaking in France, and the reds have been this way since the 80's. For the whites, René-Jean explained that up until a few years ago, they'd always used to add a little bit of <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> at <glossary title="827">press</glossary>. But over the last decade, they have developed a technique where they <glossary title="843">rack</glossary> the juice after <glossary term="Pressing" title="827">press</glossary> WITHOUT doing a <glossary title="379">débourbage</glossary>. As the wine <glossary title="441">ferments</glossary>, the <glossary term="Gross Lees" title="515">gross lees</glossary> are physically pushed out through the top of the <glossary title="142">barrels</glossary>. This means they have to constantly clean up the overflow until <glossary title="">fermentation</glossary> is over, but this way, no <glossary term="Sulfites" title="993">sulfur</glossary>! Once the <glossary title="441">fermentation</glossary> is done, they then <glossary title="843">rack</glossary> the wine. We also got to taste "Rouge Divers", a <glossary title="360">Crozes-Hermitage</glossary> <glossary term="Nouveau/Primeur" title="725">nouveau</glossary>! <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_22//ec/87/ec870f883ac35b2c4f7cad62dd713f7b.jpg" /> This <glossary title="185">bottling</glossary>, which they've been doing since 2005, consistently infuriates their neighbors and probably <glossary title="544">Inter-Rhône</glossary> if they knew about it. Why? 1. It's a <glossary title="725">primeur</glossary>, so it is released in January. Not very serious <glossary title="360">Crozes</glossary>! 2. It's in a transparent <glossary title="178">Bordeaux</glossary> bottle, which is not typical of <glossary title="360">Crozes</glossary>! And look at that color! 3. There is a big stamp that translates to "Drink Now" on the label. That's just not serious <glossary title="360">Crozes</glossary>! That was the visit. I wanted to do an interview, but René-Jean's lady-friend showed up and things just progressed into drinking some 2010's and hanging out. There was so much I wanted to ask, but I'm sure there'll be another opportunity. As we were about to leave, I stepped out for a second to check on Zaggy. Just then, a very tall, curly haired man with glasses was parking his tractor. Having no idea who it was, I politely said hello and went back in. It turns out it was François Ribo! By the time we'd figured out it was him (after all these years, Denyse wanted to meet him), it was too late: he'd gotten back on the tractor to work some vines! The mystery continues...