Domaine Les Roches Bleues

Domaine Les Roches Bleues is a winegrowing entity in the Beaujolais area in southern Burgundy, which through a purely sustainable vision, intends to give voice to the crus of Brouilly and the Côte de Brouilly. The Domaine has been run on a strictly family basis for three generations, since 1967 to be precise, when Annie and Louis Bassy bought 4 hectares of vines at the foot of the southern slope of Mont Brouilly with the intention of setting up their own winegrowing business at a time when sharecropping was still well established. In 1993, the baton was passed to Christiane and Dominique, who, through passion and dedication, have nurtured the family tradition, joined in 2019 by young Jonathan and Chloé. The name of the winery, literally 'the blue rocks', is a reference to the famous blue rock of volcanic nature that characterises the soils of the Côte de Brouilly vineyards.

Within the 9 hectares of vineyards owned by Domaine Les Roches Bleues, it exclusively breeds Gamay, a grape variety that is the identity of the Beaujolais area. The vines, which are organically certified, are located in the Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly appellations, respectively, at the foot and on the slopes of Mont Brouilly, a volcanic relief almost 500 metres high. Viticulture has been practised here since Roman times, and the vines benefit from very varied soils, altitudes and exposures. In general, the vineyards are characterised by the presence of the characteristic blue metamorphic rocks and silicon, pink granite and schist, depending on the parcel in question. Some of the vines are very old, over 80 years old, and the harvest is carried out entirely by hand so as to preserve the integrity of the bunches, which are vinified whole with semi-carbonic maceration. Fermentation occurs spontaneously thanks to the action of only indigenous yeasts, and the subsequent maturation phase takes place in French oak barrels.

The production of Domaine Les Roches Bleues is thus divided between the Côte de Brouilly and Brouilly Crus. The former yields are more structured and spicy wines, while the latter cru gives rise to more accessible and graceful expressions. A common characteristic of both appellations, however, is the peculiar mineral timbre due to the particular geological conformation of the vineyards.