Summary
Château des Vergers dates to 1604 and is one of the grand, old properties of Beaujolais, producing both fruit and wine. Historical mentions show that gamay was grown on the land that would become Château des Vergers as early as the 14th century. The château has a distinctly shaped roof, designed to resemble the hull of a boat, which is depicted on the labels. The village of Lantignié and Château des Vergers were also included as wine producers in the Cassini map of 1756, the first geometrical map covering the entire kingdom of France.
After a long production history, the château fell on hard times - due mainly to the Beaujolais crisis of 1990. It was barely functioning when the Bassouls family bought it in 2020. Cosima Bassouls' parents gradually brought the charming old property back to life, along with its historic vineyards. Before Cosima took on the project in 2018, her family was selling grapes to other local winemakers. With a distinct passion for nature, Cosima studied agronomy and economics. After obtaining her degree, she worked at several internships in Roussillon, focusing on organic and regenerative agriculture and agroecology. She began the conversion of all 6ha of family vineyards to organic farming in 2019, utilizing agroforestry and cover crops to create an integrated landscape that brings nature into the vineyards. She utilizes 15 different cover crops, rotating and adapting each to suit the needs of the parcel, which creates natural biodiversity and a true polyculture with healthy, living soil, which also counteracts erosion.
Cosima also employs other progressive vine-training methods, including planting all new parcels to cordon instead of gobelet. She has started the process of training her old vines on high stakes, where they can benefit from natural ventilation as a way to combat disease naturally. She braids the ends of the vines rather than cutting the leaves on the top of the plant, as she feels it is important because it is where the plant receives information and stores memory. Cosima continues to plant trees throughout her vineyards for multiple reasons, including evidence that the fungal networks that work in synergy with tree roots are beneficial not only to healthy soil development but are a key factor in the transmission and regulation of vineyard systems. The fine, hairlike root tips of trees join together with microscopic fungal filaments to form the basic links of the network, which appears to operate as a symbiotic relationship between trees and vineyard systems. Trees are also an effective tool in controlling the heat in vineyards and providing shade, combating the effects of climate change. All of this leads to a healthier terroir and more complexity in the resulting wines.
Cosima’s vision includes organizing the Lantignié region’s bid for Cru status around the principles of organic farming as a minimum entry requirement for the Lantignié-designated origin; with the ultimate goal of adhering to the highest ecological standards in Beaujolais. Her group of 18 like-minded friends, all young vignerons, are the next generation in Beaujolais and in Lantignié. They are working together, pooling resources, trading expertise, equipment, and vineyards. This communal atmosphere and openness to change and progressive ideals has created an electric feeling in the up-and-coming Lantignié region, which makes it the most exciting Beaujolais village to watch.
