Founded by husband and wife team Catherine and Laurent Delaunay, Les Jamelles wines have earned international recognition, collected over 400 awards and have a commercial presence in over 50 countries. Catherine Delaunay is at the helm as the Chief Winemaker crafting the largest wine collection in the south of France. In our interview, she tells us more about how Les Jamelles understands climate change and puts sustainability first.
Love at first sip
The couple met at university studying winemaking in 1986 and fell in love. They set out to make their dreams come true and start a wine label. After searching for the ideal area for their winery they settled in the Languedoc region in the south of France and after years of making wines without a winery in 2015, their winery was finally built in the heart of the Corbières area.
Adapting to climate change
Climate change is a concern for many parts of the wine world. The Languedoc region has a rare Mediterranean climate however the area is affected by global warming each season. Corbières, a region in the south of France, suffers from drought, a lack of water supply and a large increase in overall temperatures. “With every vintage, nature gives us different grapes although we grow the vines in an almost identical way, climatic conditions are an extremely important factor, if not crucial to our process,” shares Delaunay.
Delaunay says that Languedoc is highly impacted by climate change. The lack of rainfall in autumn and winter causes major water stress for plants. Then, in summer, the high temperatures cause scalding and even sunburn on the grapes. “We must constantly listen, observe nature and what it gives us so that we can then make the best wines possible,” she explains.
“We are going to become very vulnerable,” says Delaunay. “What do we do if the public authorities ration the water we essentially need for winemaking? If we lack electricity in the summer for air conditioning in cellars and vats?” At Les Jamelles they are finding ways to drastically reduce water consumption by using recycled water from the winery and cellar to reduce the external need and intake of water. They are also working on improving the insulation in their tanks to have less energy loss.
She shares that at Les Jamellese they have fully integrated a climate change factor with a project dedicated to, “adapting our vineyards to climate change.” Led by an external agronomist. Les Jamelles has implemented actions such as:
- HVE3 certification (High Environmental Value level 3 – the highest level of certification) of their estates and those of their partners.*
- The complete integration of the concept of “adaptation of grape varieties to the terroir,” in order to allow each of the varieties to express themselves in the best possible way.
- Planting the first resistant grape varieties available, such as Sauvignon Gris
- Reflection on how they plant all new vineyards with regards to density, choice of grape varieties and rootstocks, and cultivation techniques to promote deep-rooting of the young plants, over the first three years from planting.
- A “soil life” axis, where the winery works on soil-management methods and soil working techniques in order to improve the biological life of soils and their water retention capacity, etc
- A water control axis, with work on mastering irrigation techniques to save water.
Les Jamelles and putting sustainability first
The Les Jamelles winery was built with the highest technical standards regarding sustainable development. For many years the Les Jamelles team has been undertaking a commitment to the French government’s RSE/CSR program (CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility), whose objective is to contribute to sustainable business objectives now and for the future.
Les Jamelles has put major attention on energy savings, particularly electrical energy and also water conservation as part of working with Mother Nature. On a more technical level, the winery has also modified its winemaking system for settling white and rosé wines. They no longer settle wines with cold temperatures – as bringing the musts below 12°C was extremely energy intensive – now the filter via a concept called flotation. The team has also had to modify the logistics during harvest in order to bring the grapes from the vineyard to the cellar more quickly to avoid having to cool grapes picked at high temperatures saving energy at the winery level.
In terms of packaging, in 2019, Les Jamelles reduced the weight of their bottles by 20%, saving over 470 tons of CO² per year. The winery also uses softened water in order to reduce the use of cleaning products at the winery level. The roof of the aging cellar in Monze has also been transformed into a green roof for improved natural insulation. In the vineyards their 60 hectares of vines at the Domaine du Trésor estate are managed according to environmentally responsible practices (level 3 HEV* certification – the highest level a French winery can achieve), and so are the vineyards under contract of winegrower partners.
*HEV stands for High Environmental Value and guarantees that agricultural practices are used to preserve the natural ecosystem and reduce pressure on the environment by paying attention to soil preservation, water conservation and also a focus on overall biodiversity.
Delaunay’s winemaking philosophy
Delaunay says that wine has taught her curiosity, passion, humility and respect. “Our viticulture may be modern,” she says, “ but it must be respectful of the environment. We are responsible for the balance between the vine and its environment. Mother Nature shapes the grapes with their own characteristics. We must therefore do this work with humility and respect.”
She believes that wine is a magical product that gives us pleasure while also having the ability to awaken our senses. “We must constantly listen and observe nature so that we can then make the best wines possible. This involves experimenting with winemaking, aging and blending,” states Delaunay.
The winemaker believes that the art of winemaking comes from working with the raw materials of the land (the grapes) and using them to build something beautiful “You have to try, dare, not put up barriers, not be afraid: that’s passionate curiosity. It drives the desire to always want to do better,” she says. Delaunay finds inspiration for her wine collections in the vibrant whites of New Zealand and South Africa while drawing from her Burgundy roots for the finest Pinot Noir examples. Italy contributes with its long, fruity red wines characterized by beautiful acidity and tension.
The Languedoc offers Delaunay and other winemakers in the region a great diversity of terroirs to craft interesting and dynamic wines. Delaunay shares that it’s the variety of sun and wind exposure, which allows her to create wines with different typicities and characters.
“I produce fresh, very expressive and always balanced blends. I feel like a painter with my own colour palette to express my creativity,” she says.
Exploration
Catherine believes experimentation and exploration in the Languedoc are endless. She loves to craft classical wines from across the region but she is also experimenting with ‘glou glou’ wines, and orange wines and exploring minimalism in winemaking while making a cuvée without any added sulphites.
“Since the creation of Les Jamelles, we have always listened to consumer demand and been on the look-out for trends”
Find Les Jamelles at LCBO
