Château Moulin de Peyronin Organic Bordeaux Rouge 2017

Franck and Véronique Terral bought the small 20 hectare Moulin de Peyronin estate in 2006, after respectively completing viticulture, oenology and commercial wine studies in Libourne-Montagne agricultural college (wine school!). They live on the property with their two daughters, situated in the beautiful Dordogne valley, east of Saint-Émilion.

The 14 hectares of vines are fully organic since the previous owner converted them in 1975, and the Terrals have since converted to biodynamic status in 2018, with the 2019 vintage the first fully Demeter certified. Plantings are 80% red grapes, 20% white, with Merlot and Sémillon dominant along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc.

Demeter’s biodynamic certification requires biodiversity and ecosystem preservation, soil husbandry, livestock integration, prohibition of genetically engineered organisms and viewing the farm as a living 'holistic organism'. For Franck and Véronique this means the use of green fertilisers like mustard and faba bean, the use of herbal teas and plant purines, the planting of hedgerows around the vines to stimulate fauna and inviting sheep into the vineyards for weed control.