Domaine Baud Génération 9

A vineyard where the words - family, history and know-how take on all their meaning

Domaine Baud Génération 9 is a family property in the Jura region whose origins date back to the middle of the 18th century. Even though the cellar is located on Le Vernois, the estate is the proud owner of 25 hectares spread over three large sectors: L’Etoile (3 hectares), Château-Chalon (3.5 hectares) and Côtes du Jura (18 hectares). Today Domaine Baud Generation 9 is managed by Clémentine and Bastien Baud. Together they produce 25 different cuvées, or around 150,000 bottles per year. This includes crémants, whites, reds, rosés, Macvins and of course yellow wines. They also distill some fruit liqueurs (mirabelle plum, pear) and produce fruit juices (apple, grape). These allow children in particular, during visits, to do as the grown-ups while tasting. Let’s go together to meet these united siblings, united and passionate about the same thing, the wines of the Jura!

Why did you choose to make wine?

Clémentine & Bastien Baud : I think there is a part of the conscious and a part of the unconscious. We were raised by our parents who were in this environment, raised up in the world of viticulture. However, we ourselves (with my brother) made the choice to be winegrowers. We have never been forced - to do anything.

Initially I was not in this line of business. I studied business and foreign languages… I wanted to go abroad, work in export and learn different languages. I knew I wanted to be in the business but hadn’t thought about working in the business yet. My brother has always been someone who enjoys being outdoors, working the soil, tinkering with things or working with the machinery. He never asked himself that question. He always wanted to be a winegrower… It was innate. He knew that someday he was going to come back to work on the estate.

For me it came a little later... When I did my studies I had a long vacation and I came to work in the vineyards and help my father with the business. It all started as a joke between my brother and me, I was nearing the end of my language degree. I was trying to find my way and I said to him: why not continue my studies but in wine? How about we study together? It was as part of a discussion and thinking about it that I said to myself: I love business. I have wine in my blood. I have always lived according to this rhythm. It seems to me in the end like a very natural progression. I told myself that I had a beautiful estate, a beautiful family business and that I could do my part by taking care of the business. As I started my studies in wine and oenology, I realized that I loved it! So I had found my favorite sector. I was fine. I had that feeling. I was at ease without realizing how much I already knew -. I was familiar with this area of work. My brother was in technology and I in business (specialization in managemententrepreneurship), so we complement each other perfectly. On January 1, 2016, we officially set up as young farmers. With my brother we are very complementary. That’s what makes us strong. When my father and uncle retired there were 19 hectares of vines. We knew that one person could not manage 19hc of vines, trade and production. For years, my father had to ask himself the question of how my brother would do if he were the only one to take over. Today Bastien specializes in oenology and vines and I take care of trade, management, export. However, we are together during the vinification, we work the blends together… We do a lot of things together, which is also what is interesting in our work, it is this plurality of tasks and the fact of working as a family.

If you had to describe what wine means to you in just a few words, what would you say?

C.&B.B.: At the estate we are warm and familial. We are still among family, our cousins, aunts and uncles always participate and lend a hand. Despite our current 22 hectares of vines, we have kept this family aspect in the management, even with our employees they must feel like family.

What is the signature of Domaine Baud? What makes it recognizable in blind tasting?

C.&B.B.: I would say that the style of our wines (and despite the fact that they are vinified by men) can be characterized as feminine. On our Chardonnay and our Sauvignons we go for elegant things, quite round in the mouth. We are looking for finesse, a little fat, a good balance so that our wines are not too oxidative.

Where does the name of the property come from?

C.&B.B.:

The name of the property has been passed down from generation to generation. In the family, we have been winegrowers since 1742, so with my brother we are the 9th generation. It is the municipal archives that have enabled us to go back to this date with JeanFrançois Baud, who at the time lived on polyculture. Before our family it was Domaine Baud Père et fils. It was classic, but at the time the oldest son usually took over the business. So for the first time a girl arrived on the farm. We therefore changed the name so that everyone could find their place, hence the name Domaine Baud Génération 9.

Could you tell us about your terroirs?

C.&B.B.: We have 3 different terroirs on the property. On our vines in the Etoile appellation, we are on limestone. During the vinification we will look for minerality, the flint side and a nice freshness. We are on 100% chardonnay wines. In order for the Chardonnay to reflect the expression of the terroir, they are aged in over 100 years old casks that we have on the estate. We don’t want the wood to give tannins or a woody side. The idea is really to bring a little roundness to magnify the expression of the terroir.

As for our vines located in Château-Chalon, we are on the famous marlstone. These blue and white marls correspond to the oldest periods in history. The rest of the vineyard is in AOC Côte du Jura which is mainly composed of clay and limestone. In the Jura, unlike in Burgundy, we work much less with the notion of climate because what makes Jura wines so strong is aging, especially on the oxidative side. On the other hand, we are

going to make vintages that distinguish certain plots. For example the youngest plots will give a little more yields which will lead to a floral, fruity, gourmet Chardonnay. Plot selections are also made for the oldest vines on the estate, planted in the 1930s / 1940s with little yield. There we will no longer seek richness and concentration. When tasted, they will give the wine a very light nutty side as well as nice notes of apple (which is the expression of our old vines). But it is the growing that also sets us apart from other wine-growing regions. Do you have plans for Domaine Baud Génération 9? “We have just reached level 3 of Terra Vitis. In the medium term, I would also like HVE certification. Level 3 Terra Viti corresponds to this but this equivalency does not exist. Then, if all goes well, in ten years or so we - have plans to build a - level with a tasting cellar and a buried glass cellar to develop the wine tourism side. We would also like to try biodynamics on 3 or 4 hectares.

Also, but on a completely different subject starting this year, we have set up a small tasting club with loyal customers of the estate, those who are passionate about wine. One Friday per month, we present a region and a winegrower. It allows us to taste together the riches of the French terroir because in the end we realize that in each winegrowing region we consume local wines and therefore we don’t know much about the products of other regions of our beautiful country. This club has been in place since January 1st.

Could you recommend a food & wine pairing to us?

C.&B.B.: There is so much to do, to imagine… With our Château-Chalon, we can suggest that you make small terrines of snails with cream flavored with yellow wine and some morels.

More classically, a nice piece of foie gras with…

Do you have an anecdote for us?

C.&B.B.: My grandmother was from Haute Saône. Her parents worked for a bourgeois family. They were servants. One day my greatgrandfather figured he was going to win the lottery. Back then it was the national lottery and there were one or two draws a month. At that time it was mostly the wealthy people who went to La Poste to buy tickets. They bought whole bundles; 100/150 tickets. The price of a ticket was a month’s salary for my great-grandparents. One day when my great-grandfather had just received his pay, and of course without telling his wife, he left to buy a ticket…. It was the winning ticket! After this they came to settle in Le Vernois, buying a house and some vines. Then my Grandfather and Grandmother met. They were the 7th generation. Their children Alain and Jean Michel took over. They were the 8th generation.