The terroir of Clos Troteligotte

The Clos Troteligotte enjoys an altitude terroir (350 meters) is predominantly clay-limestone. However, since 2004, a micro-plot selection within the vineyard has been made according to the terroir and the climate experienced by the different slopes. The goal is to distinguish the different types of geological soil even more precisely, in order to then vinify the wines according to this differentiation.

Several terroirs were identified:

• Clay-limestone Kimmeridgian: Presence of fossils from the Jurassic period (- 150 million years)
• Siderolithic clay-limestone: Strong presence of iron from the Tertiary period (- 50 million years)
• Stampian clay-limestone: Presence of white or gray marl, resulting from the erosion of lacustrine limestone (-25 million years).

KIMMERIDGIAN CLAY-LIMESTONE

In the Clos area, another dominant type of terroir: it is the “Kimmeridgian” clay-limestone terroir. Derived from marine sediments loaded with iodine, this geological layer is very rare in France. It can be found notably in Chablis, north of Burgundy. It brings freshness, vivacity, minerality (chalky side) and salinity to our wines.

STAMPIAN CLAY-LIMESTONE

Outside the Clos, there are some “satellites” (5 hectares in all) characterized by clay-limestone terroirs and located in the “Quercy Blanc”. These plots are intended for the production of white wines (chenin, sauvignon, viognier and chardonnay): round, dominated by minerality and very expressive. As well as limited series in red (cabernet franc, black jurançon, gamay, merlot, malbec): wines of thirst, light, gorged with fruit. The white grape varieties were planted in 2004 when Emmanuel arrived on the estate.

SIDEROLITHIC CLAY-LIMESTONE

The siderolithic clay-limestone terroir is the most abundant on the vineyard. It is located on the area of Clos, small hill located in the town of Villesèque, 14 ha in one piece. It is rather rare on this territory: this type of soil represents only 7% maximum of the name Cahors. This terroir is composed of different concentrations of iron. These concentrations, known as ferruginous concretions, make it possible to define very different plots. Each plot corresponds to a vintage. This ferruginous element gives the appellation wines very airy profiles, minerality, elegance and delicacy. On this terroir, a historic grape variety, Malbec, as well as Merlot and Tannat, have been planted and are authorised to be vinified as an “accessory” grape in the Cahors appellation.

Biodynamics at Clos Troteligotte

Biodynamic viticulture aims, in a general way, to rehabilitate, energize and intensify the organic life in the environment where the vine lives. This approach consists in intensifying the exchanges between the plant and its environment (earth and air), so as to obtain better grapes and therefore better wines. Biodynamics seeks to strengthen the vitality and resistance of plants, by improving natural exchanges between the soil and the roots on the one hand, and between the sky and the leaves on the other. In other words, it is a question of promoting and increasing the exchanges on the one hand, between the innumerable soil microorganisms and the vine root system and, on the other hand, between the sky (sunlight, cosmic influences) and the vine leaf system, in order to optimize the expression of the terroir (the terroir understood as a soil-climate association) in the grapes and therefore in the wine. In this respect, biodynamic wines are supposed to guarantee a better expression of the terroir (we will come back to this).

Some, such as Nicolas Joly (La Coulée de Serrant, Savennières-Coulée-de-Sherrant), explain that biodynamics consists, more fundamentally, in taking into account and soliciting the energy frequencies (electromagnetic, in this case) that travel through the solar system, the air and the earth to intensify the life of the soils and the plant. “What must be understood here, emphasizes Nicolas Joly, is that the living is only a sum of frequencies or rhythms; it is a vibratory world,” and biodynamics will strive to harmonize this set of vibrations and intensify their circulation between the plant, the earth and the sky. Biodynamics takes into account the lunar cycles and planetary positions, which influence the life and growth of plants, as well as the quality of must and wine during winemaking. Thus, according to Frédéric Duseigneur (Domaine Duseigneur, Lirac), biodynamics consisted of “recovering this knowledge that had been swept away by agrochemistry,” a knowledge that dates back to the beginnings of agriculture in the Neolithic period and continued until the early 20th century. “Only a hundred years ago, the peasants felt things in their skin, in their bones.” It will be a question of recovering the knowledge thus lost in our time because of agrochemistry, and to recover, at least partially, ancient knowledge, this understanding which was formerly global.

Organic farming is defined as a mode of agricultural production free of synthetic chemicals and GMOs. It is also and above all a sustainable mode of production that respects people and their environment. To do this, it relies on a global approach of the exploitation and its environment, as well in its technical-economic components as social, environmental or historical.

The plant, the animal, the human: a quest for balance and coherence

In biodynamics, the farm of Clos Troteligotte is seen as a living organism composed of organs essential to the survival of the whole: plant, animal, and human. In the vineyard, plant biodiversity is preserved thanks to the attention paid to the soil, the vegetation cover, the supply of organic matter, the diversification of grape varieties (about thirty varieties, including old, indigenous and resistant), mass selection, finally and above all thanks to agroforestry.

In 2025, a new project at animal level takes shape: a fence surrounding the 16 hectares of vines. The goal is twofold: to protect the vines and new tree plantations from the increasingly present game; and to install animals in the plots, inside the fence.

• The fence allows for the preservation of work: plant material, grapes, crops. The presence of game (roe deer, wild boars and deer) has become too intense to see all the efforts of a year reduced to nothing.

• In organic farming, biodynamics, and now agroforestry, this project also allows us to take a new step forward and strive ever more towards greater coherence and balance. Introduction of animals into the vineyard: small New Zealand pigs, chickens, ewes and cows, which allow for working the soil, managing grass cover, improving the plots, and enhancing the richness and diversity of fungi/micro-organisms present in the soil, and finally attract the populations of insects and birds.

Eco-farming professionals point to several other benefits of working with animals:

• Environmental: maintaining open environments, fighting against brush entanglement and closing the environment; diversifying flora; reducing the carbon footprint
• social: vector of social connection, serenity, and appeasement; educational role and awareness of the animal world

A few photos of Clos Troteligotte