Bruno Duchêne

Bruno was so successful as a wild mushroom salesman that he owned a car phone in the 80's. He retired in his early 40's to Banyuls but got bored and started making wine. He lives on his boat Odin most of the year.

Bruno owns four hectares spread over four parcels , all planted on schist but with enough exposition and micro-climate variations to keep things interesting. Banyuls and the neighboring Collioure's historic vineyards, planted at low density on ancient terraces, are notorious for being extremely low yielding and near-impossible to work mechanically, subsequently leading to an ever-increasing abandonment of these legendary sites.

The vines are worked organically, and because of the region's ideal climate, Bruno averages only three sulfur treatments a year (this is an extremely low number). And because odium is not an issue here, copper is never used. The wines ferment spontaneously in tank, then are racked to barrel for aging. Sulfur is never added at any point. The soil work has to be done 100% by hand (except for a tiny plot where a horse has room to till and plow). He also experiments with very limited production cuvées, usually a few hundred bottles per vintage.