Our land

Our terroir concept

Our vineyard is located inland, 10 km as the crow flies from the seaside, on the alluvial terraces of the Bravone River. The alluvial soil of Clos Fornelli is exclusively fluvial.

The result of a schist massif's erosion

The soil of Clos Fornelli, resulting from the erosion of the schist massif of Castagniccia, consists of loams, sands mixed with numerous rounded pebbles.

Lustrous schists, blue schists, olivine gabbros, metabasalts, quartz, granites... our soil bears witness to great mineral richness, with already altered stones capable of giving a real 'signature' to our wines.

Depending on the plots, the clay varies in proportion and depth. It is a precious ally for water conservation, which is becoming scarce. The stony structure also varies: the pebbles can be numerous on the surface or appear in deeper horizons. In times of drought, they are a weakness (as they promote water drainage) but also an asset: the soil is oxygenated even in depth and allows the roots to develop far from the soil surface.

But the roots of our vineyard need to develop to draw the 'essence' of our terroir. This is our challenge.

TO ENSURE THAT OUR WINES REFLECT THE TERROIR.

We do not use herbicides on the soil of Clos Fornelli, but above all, we do everything to help our vines do without irrigation for the time being: not out of dogma, but to ensure that the imprint of the terroir is readable in our wines.Even drip irrigation, used sparingly, would lead the vine to feed in the shallow horizons of the soil, far from the sought-after minerality; but also to make it completely dependent on irrigation. Faced with climate change, the urgency is to prepare our vines for resilience..

How can we allow the vine's root to project deeply into the soil? How can we help it access water, nutrients, and minerals available without exhausting itself too much? The choice of farming techniques that will affect the soil is essential. For example, the compost, green fertilizers that we use on some plots will build soil self-fertility, improve soil porosity, and water retention capacity.

How to adapt to climate change? For a grape variety like Sciaccarellu, which ripens early and is very sensitive to wilting, we carry out late pruning (end of March instead of January for other grape varieties) so that it matures later. We do minimal trimming and do not remove leaves from our plots...

Moreover, water, which is becoming a scarce resource in Corsica, is a common good to be distributed equitably: we need to leave room, and therefore water, for nourishing agriculture. Therefore, as long as our vineyards are not in danger, we accept, by not irrigating, to settle for sometimes modest yields.

our guiding principles

What furrow are we aiming to plow?

  • An exclusive use of Corsican grape varieties in our blends
  • A gradual reintroduction of our rare grape varieties for their invaluable heritage value and their potential adaptation to a hotter and drier climate
  • Living without irrigation, by choice, as long as our vineyards are not in danger
  • A necessary and constant reassessment to adapt our vineyard to climate change without losing our way
  • No chemical weeding. Green manure. Use of compost. Everything must promote soil life and access to water.
  • Vinifications aiming to limit sulfiting without avoiding it: some wine alterations can sometimes be more harmful to health than a bit of sulfur...
  • Carving our path away from dogmas
  • Offering a price range that allows our blends to be consumed by the people of our region.

Our guiding principle in crafting terroir-driven wines.