Californie

Trading in life as a software engineer for making wine sounds like a dream, which in this case was a reality for Lillian Bauchet when in 2007 he took on vines around Fleurie, mentored by the likes of Phillippe Jambon. But this change wasn't enough for Lillian's curious mind and he moved in 2014 to find smaller surface in the village of Lancie, outside of the cru appellations. It was here he started to experiment with planting hybrid grape varieties, an experimental vineyard of mixed varietals originally at the site of a disused tennis court. These varietals are much more disease resistant and require very little to no treatments, unlike noble varietals where in 2021 the wet weather led people doubling or tripling the amount they used.

Now these hybrid varietals are his passion and he is known as something of an authority in the area, planting plenty and advising Romain Des Grottes and Robin Goutallier on their own hybrid plantings.

The old argument is that these varietals do not produce great wine, but in recent years natural winemakers in particular are proving that this is not the case. When tasting the 2021 wines from Lillian & Sophie, you can see this potential in evidence.