Rémy MIQUEL
Domaine Sainte Juste
10 Route d'Alba
11 360 Durban-Corbières
First comes the nose
A couple of years I had my first the opportunity to drink a glass of wine to the domain Sainte Juste. My neighbor came to me with a bottle of red wine without a label. I tasted the wine, and was amazed. A wine with a distinctive flavor of black currant, very atypical. First I could not imagine what kind of food he could fit. It was an open cask of wine and we were both agreed that this wine deserved a bottle.
Later, when I Remy Miquel, the winemaker, said he once visited me why the wine was not bottled: everywhere full tanks, low prices, wine crisis.
Today we get into our car a second with a visit to make. We are apathetic, it is too early, too cold and foggy. Minutes later, rises Jean-Louis to visit us. He can not scare away the fog but he cheers us and with it the fog makes us less. Two hours later we reach Durban-Corbières and expect us to beaming faces of Remy and Ulrike. After chatting for a bit of contact I have to tell them, their history.
Remy begins:
The beginning
A family history. Both his father and his grandfather worked in the winery. The wine cellar here has built his grandfather. He is, Remy grew up more or less in the wine. When he was a child, he often worked on weekends in the vineyard and has found pleasure in this outdoor work. At 16 he began training as a winemaker. Two years later, his father had health problems, he takes over the estate. Suddenly he was a real wine - and an ambitious to do so.
Domaine Sainte Juste: Remy Miquel
The crazy years
An ambitious wine ... "I have enlarged, I rented this vineyard, I bought vineyards of growers who went into retirement. I always said yes, yes, I buy. My father and grandfather were from the old school. They operated for a real organic viticulture, in fact they knew no chemical weed control. My generation was the generation of chemical products. This was something new that was progress and that was magic. It saved time, everything became easier and the vineyards looked much nicer without weed from a real miracle. "
Thanks to this magic, he became the king in the expansion and during the 80 years of the best customer of Crédit Agricole (Agricultural Bank). During this time, everything blew up at him, the area of the vineyards, his income, his expenses and his credit. This went on until the end of the 80s. Until the next crisis in the wine (about every 10 years, it is in the French wine crisis). Suddenly, he had 25 acres of great concern. Without major losses, he has saved on the crisis of time, but he has learned nothing from it.
The Years of Lead
1994, his brother he proposed to establish a cooperative (GEAC), "gemeinsamn we are stronger." Yes, they were really strong with its 35 hectares, but the last years were still very difficult for them. They borrowed money from the bank to build a new wine cellar, but sooner or later you must pay back borrowed money to the bank. Dazuhin Remy also had health problems. "I was sick, chronic sinusitis. Every day I was sitting on the tractor and sprayed chemical spray. " He now knows that herbicides and pesticides are not conducive to health, on the contrary. But this time, with the impatience of the bank in the cross, believed He did not have time to think about his health. "I was really depressed but I just kept going." How was it possible that he was so struck by blindness and dumbness? But as the devil so he wants to meet a nice German woman who wants to make music with him. At the same time he has met people who have told him about organic farming. "A grown without herbicides and pesticides. That was a real miracle. To Disem time I said STOP.
English customers
A knock at the door, Remy opens and welcomes 5 people who actually came from England in order to taste his wine. Remy shows his wine cellar. I follow him with my Camera. More than a half hour Remy served his potential customers, he can taste all the wines and answer all their questions. I understand English well and can follow the conversation, which is very amusing. The British Remy find very likable, but they often do not understand exactly what he says. You probably think the wine cellar is a bit of a typical French mess.
Domaine Sainte Juste: The wine cellar
Ultimately, they buy a lot of wine. Later, I see how they load their trunk full to the brim with wine. Satisfied they depart. Then I asked Ulrike to its history.
The Arrive 31 December 1999
On New Year's Eve 1999 Ulrike has arrived in Durban-Corbières. She was then 19 years old and was full of energy. 6 months she wanted to stay to learn French. Six months in a nice house with good food for a few hours employees, a good exchange, she imagined.
Domaine Sainte Juste: Ulrike Miquel
But then some initial doubts. With her friend, she said a lot of German and French stayed on the track. Then Durban-Corbières in the winter, not just Paris. It is so monotonous that the visit of the postman is an exciting event already. Above all, it lacked the violin playing. Nevertheless, Durban-Corbières is not so small, that have found there are not musicians and her friend had driven fast one. It was Remy. With him went Ulrike music. Durban-Corbières and suddenly came alive. Ulrike was ecological and was told as if that were to switch his estate Remy Durban-Corbieres was more interesting. Half the year was over quickly and the departure of Remy was not easy. When she was back in Germany, it was monotonous life without Remy, it was also the postman to change anything. She had fallen in love with Remy. What to do? A few weeks later she took leave from their parents for a second time to go to Durban-Corbières - and this time not only for 6 months.
A flying spaghetti
It's noon and I propose that my companions to look for a restaurant. You do not have the time to agree, because Ulrike invites us to eat with them and Remy adds: "You have not yet tried our wines," we have no choice - we stay. We try red wines and white wines and we are very satisfied. Ulrike served us spaghetti bolognese to give the wines a basis Yan and I try to teach IHEM two year old son how to eat spaghetti. One or the other it already time flies through the air. However, he is a small voice talent, I can German and French talk to him. After the meal is
Remy continued his story:
I have "STOP" said
Yes, I said Did STOP, so I have not presented my life. I wanted to stop with all these chemical P roducts to work and instead switch to organic farming. All those chemicals poisoning the earth and for me I also wanted to make itself a product that suits me and I did not want to deceive my customers longer. I wanted nothing more than an honest and natural wine. I was ready to begin a new life. But how was it? "He met people who made him the tasty organic farming, but he saw at the beginning rather black, because of the many diseases in the vineyard. Dazuhin he was the only one in the area. He sought and found wine a little further away, who grew organically. With them he was changing, and asked them how they have solved all these Anfansprobleme. Then he made in a development with the Landwischaftskammer and found kindred spirits. At the same time there was also Ulrike, who supported him, helped him, encouraged him and brought him to to go on the path to the end. First it of the change was possible.
The nightmare "conversion"
began with the 2002 changeover and there were some difficulties. The conversion usually takes 3 years. During this time the tenants must work according to the rules of organic farming, but the product still gets called "organic", there is no organic wines but wine from a conversion operation. So you can not raise prices. Dazuhin needs of wineries and more workers than in traditional production, the salary and wage costs an additional worker is a great burden. Because the income is not increasing the Wnzer is in trouble. To support the growers there are theoretical conversion premiums. For us it was a nightmare, however. When we started with the conversion hatJacques Chirac frozen this premium, not a penny more from the state, no Penny for us. In addition, we have invested too much money in that time a new truck and in the renovation of the cellar. The same year also a wine crisis has struck. "
Is that bad? Yes, this is very bad. That is, namely, that prices are rising, but rather fall. Moreover, it is then very difficult to sell the wine. Remy has been negotiating with the wine merchants, but it has not completely a fair price for his wine to achieve, and eventually, they have suggested to him 50 cents for a liter of AOC from organically grown! So he has decided not to sell with the consequences: full tanks and empty coffers. And hopelessness on a new heights. So that was the nightmare of conversion.
The tide is turning
step by step, they have pulled out of the swamp. You worked like crazy, her friends who supported them and helped them and sell in Germany was a success, especially thanks to Ulrike. They have in place before Germany made wine tastings and markets the wines directly. These evenings of type "Tupperware Party" is always a large Erfolg.Die Germans appreciate the fact that a winery, which even speaks a bit of their language, traveling from far and presents his own wines. If these wines come from organic farming, success is guaranteed, Germans seem all upright "tree huggers" to be. Unfortunately, there are also fiscal and administrative details, they seem to be almost invincible and no one knows exactly how you have to do it. But they do not complain. After all the worries in the past, the rather small problems.
black and white magic
The father and the grandfather of Remy then working for a method that today is called "organic farming". The magic potion (chemical pesticides) from Remy has made one of the big names in wine. 20 years later, he realized that it was black magic in the game. He has "STOP" said. Thanks Ulrike, his friends and like-minded wine he has rediscovered organic farming, the methods of his father and grandfather. The "white magic" has won and the wines prove this, as our friend Jean-Louis says: "with distinction".
Domaine Sainte Juste: the wines
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