Bruno Duchêne - Pure Magic from Banyuls sur Mer

A Loire Valley native, Bruno Duchêne was previosuly a wild mushroom merchant throughout the Loire and Burgundy. Leaving the mushroom business, a nine month stage with Frederic Cossard at Domaine Chassorney introduced Bruno to biodynamic farming and exceptional minimal-intervention wines.

Bruno decided to pursue a life as a vigneron and headed south to the town of Banyuls in the sunny Roussillon region in 2002 where he resides on the Côte Vermeille. This stunningly beautiful region where the Pyrenees joins the Mediterranean draws both exceptionally talented vignerons and artists alike, Collioure's nickname is ‘La cité des peintres' - the town of painters.

It is here that Bruno acquired 4 hectares in what is notoriously some of the hardest vineyards to work in France planted on steep terraced hillsides, near impossible to farm with any machinery therefore it must be done by hand. The vines are very low yielding and planted on decomposed schistose soil, focusing immense concentration and purity. The regions sunny, dry climate means that very minimal sulfur treatments are required each year (far less than most other French regions), copper is never used.

The Banyuls A.O.C region is know for producing sweet fortified dessert wines and because Bruno makes dry red wines they are usually labelled under the Vin de Pays de la Côte Vermeille or Collioure appellations instead.

Bruno's expressions of elegant, vibrant dry reds from this region has driven his wines into a cult-like status.