La Boussole : A franco-german wine project,
to reveal majestic but still unknown terroirs
promoting the spirit of adventure
happily connecting people
The idea of making our wine started a long time ago, when vinifying in Oregon for the crazy and impressive 00 Wines project. It had to be focusing on wine we love to drink, fine and elegant pinot and chardonnay, or cab franc and chenin, related to places we are in connection with. Above all, we wanted to make wine in a place in connection with the people we love, with charming and good terroirs, in a region where we could imagine set roots. As you know, roots are what a tree needs to grow and explore the sky.
In 2020, during my time working as cellar master – vigneron – man to do everything at Enderle & Moll, I met an amazing wine grower from Kippenheim, Thomas Kindle. He has heard about my self and was looking for someone able to support and help him to get out of the big local cooperative and start farming organic. The contact was excellent between us, his terroir in Kippenheim planted with chardonnay was looking amazing, and I loved the idea to support a global movement to more sustainable and healthy practices in vineyards.
This first time we met set the first stone of the project, and naturally gave the name. As a sailor – sail instructor- I am particularly sensitive to the idea of orientation, how navigation works, and how important a compass is to find a way at seas, or in life. The Name La Boussole was found.
Working at the same time for Enderle & Moll with the amazing human Manfred Enderle, an exceptional vine grower, farming pinot varietals on the huge limestone site of Frostberg in Münchweier, I could get from him a well selected plot to start my pinot noir production alongside the chardonnay.
With this two wines, I had the chance to continue experimenting in a more personal direction, inspired by my previous experiences full of Burgundian inspirations. Enderle & Moll was offering a full nature wine program, in which I wanted to bring clarity and better definition of the wines by working on some keys points in the processes. The Boussole wines where offering me a completing an different approach of winemaking.
2022 was the continuum of 2021, with an addition of a chardonnay from Lukas Krauß on a beautiful limestone soil site in the Pfalz, Osterberg. As an experiment, as a collaboration with a friend, wishing to learn and discover more about the german terroirs.
2023 was the end of the workrelationship at Enderle&Moll, and the opportunity to focus 100% on the Boussole project.
Life being what it is, I could start to work again with 00 Wines, as a winemaker-consultant this time, for their project in Burgundy and in Champagne.
Really engaged there, I am personally making most of the winemaking in Burgundy, and making sure the Grand Crus and Premiers crus of the project are made with the excellent and original methods we are using for the house of 00.
La Boussole is now in resonance with all the accumulated experiences and the dynamic learning process of being active on both German exceptional sites and atomic terroirs in Burgundy and the Cote des Blancs in Champagne.
The First trial in production are one chardonnay and one pinot noir from the 2021 vintage, called respectively NORD and SUD, which are the most important directions to know when you’re looking for a new path, at seas and in real life.
As second lecture level, we want the Boussole project to carry the values of humanity and to carry the spirit of adventure.
Humanity because wine is all about humanity. Connection between people, with nature and culture..
Spirit of adventure because life is all about that. Being open to the unknown, accept it and make the best to respect and understand what’s going on, on the terroir, in the cellar and in the world. Accept to try and take the risk to fail, and try again.
In a time of great challenges coming among all of us – climate change, politic & economic instabilities, paralyzing fear of a scary future in our occidental societies, we try to stay active and aware of the world, having clear views of what we want to live and try to do it.
