Secondly, the visitor must accept her powerful attachment to the practice of biodynamism. This is organic viticulture with bells on, supplementing the avoidance of all chemical treatments with a range of arcane homeopathic treatments of the soil and the vines. This is not the place to discuss the merits of a system that to casual observers seems essentially based on hocus-pocus, but it is undeniable that some of France's greatest estates have adopted it. For Lalou Bize-Leroy, biodynamics puts wine into a cosmic context, since the application of potions is tied to the phases of the moon and other natural phenomena. Whether the sensational quality of her wines is due to biodynamism or her implacable insistence on low yields it is hard to say, but of that quality there can be no doubt.
Old vines are crucial, too.
In Volnay, I have some very old vines, she said. They are on their last legs, and I hate to see them suffer, but I do everything I can to keep them alive. They produce a tiny crop, but it's such wonderful wine. The actual winemaking is simplicity itself. Up to 16 workers sort through the grapes on arrival at the winery, ensuring that anything falling short of perfection doesn't go into the fermenting vats.