Blvd. Napoléon

Boulevard Napoléon wines are the wines that we make ourselves, in our own winery in the La Livinière Premier Cru in the heart of the Minervois, South West France. They are made to compliment not just the cooking of St. JOHN but the central philosophy: that Nose-To-Tail is a way of being in the world, revolving around respect for the animal, for the farmer, and for the land that nurtures them. Our winemaking is no different.

In the vineyards, “look after the mother and you nourish the baby” is the mantra of those who, like us, tend to the soil with a diligence and care which ensures health of vines and quality of grapes - not just now, but for generations to come. And in the winery, vigneron Benjamin and Trevor’s low-intervention approach to winemaking is a celebration of that precious terroir, of the essential nature of each harvest, and of each varietal.

The cool stone walls of our ancient winery are built into the mediaeval ramparts of La Livinière en Minervois, one of the most noted wine villages in all the Languedoc and the region's first ‘Cru’, recognised in 1999.

The foothills behind rise up to the Montagnes Noires and, in the distance, the Pyrenees reach down to the Mediterranean; our microclimates, elevation and diversity of terroir work together to bestow upon this tiny village the ability to produce exceptional, focused fruit and wonderful wines - indeed its original Roman name - Lavineira - means ‘place planted with vines’, reflecting thousands of years of viniculture. It is a place which, like Trevor and Fergus themselves, honours history and heritage whilst forging a path that is true to itself.

When Trevor first purchased the winery it was dusty and ramshackle with a varied past, mirroring the buildings which house our restaurants. An old stone road sign outside the handsome iron gates grandly reads ‘Boulevard Napoleon’ and, just as St. JOHN is named after the street on which it was founded, our bottles must follow suit. So the wine we make ourselves is Boulevard Napoleon.

Second-hand tanks were bought and begged from neighbours and putting them in working order was a family effort, with Trevor’s then-young sons spending the summer of 2010 climbing inside to clean them like Dickensian chimney sweeps. New floors were cast, running water was installed, the crumbling roof was repaired and finally the agony of endless bureaucracy was complete. Eventually, three years later, we were ready to release our first wines. It was worth the wait.

Trevor remembers: “By 2013 we were committed. The 2011 and 2012 vintages were in the winery and 2013 was in the vineyards, so it was time to see whether we were making progress. Our litmus test was Fergus, who travelled down to taste the wines. We tentatively delivered a pipette of Grenache Gris from the barrel and into his glass… and, since Fergus doesn’t sniff, we watched with bated breath as he swallowed the lot. A smile spread across his lips, we could breathe at last. We realised we had something special.”

Others soon realised the same thing and word spread fast. Our first customer was of course our own restaurants and, since David Gleave of Liberty Wines was so impressed that he started distributing Boulevard Napoléon from our first ever vintage, you will now find the name across many great lists, including The Fat Duck and The Seahorse in Dartmouth amongst others (local, less grand but equally important to us), as well as internationally in France, Australia and North America.

L’Abeuradou is a romantic spot, just 0.8 hectares of schist. It is where we grow our Cinsault, with the parcel of Carignan then running below to the bottom of the slope enclosed by scrub forest and garrigue high above the valley floor. The slope is steep - vineyard work can only be done by a tiny caterpillar tractor which makes its way precariously up and down the vineyard, and all picking must be done by hand. Trevor observes: “This is hard, hard work, and only worth doing if you are making good wines. Our wines are good.” It is fruit from these vieux vignes, bush vines of more than 90 years old, which make our Cinsault and Carignan wines.

At an altitude of 400 metres the sun is fierce, reflecting off the limestone bluff which overlooks the vineyard and creating high sugar levels in the ripening grapes; at night the temperatures drop, cooling the fruits and maintaining their acidity. This diurnal variation is unique to the higher vineyards; the result is wines which are both ripe and refreshing; and, with the prevailing Tramontane and Marin winds blowing through the vineyards, there is a freshness and some salinity too.

Those winds and the altitude work together to counter mildew and, as natural selection has given us vieilles vignes with natural resistance to pests and diseases, no pesticides are used. In and around the forest and garrigue there is a density of bird and insect life and more than a few wild boar (who are rather partial to a bunch of grapes). Trevor explains: “Simple is not easy, but the health of the soil is the health of the wine. Look after the mother and you nourish the baby”.

This approach, with its low intervention and celebration of the region’s terroir and biodiversity, informs each step of Trevor and Benjamin’s winemaking process, from the roots of the vine to putting the cork in the bottle.

The Minervois was a region that Trevor knew well from his first forays around France buying wines direct from the winemakers, knocking on doors, following word-of-mouth leads into the profonde and avoiding small dogs which come out of nowhere to nip at heels and tyres. Those trips resulted in a deep understanding of the appellation and in relationships with vignerons which continue to this day - one of whom was winemaker Benjamin Darnault.

When Trevor first met Benjamin he was head winemaker at Chateau Maris, a noted and pioneering winery which was at the vanguard of biodynamic practice at the time, changing the wines of the Minervois en Languedoc. This was no easy task in a highly change-resistant region but now, some 25 years later, La Livinière is arguably the most important area in the Languedoc for the adoption of biodynamic and organic principles, much of which can be attributed to Benjamin’s work. It was this work that caught the eye of the Rhône’s great Michel Chapoutier, who whisked him away to lead his project in Australia.

Benjamin returned to his native France after three successful cycles in Australia and found himself once again in La Livinière, back with Ch. Maris’ Bertie Eden and, as the movement towards improved vineyard practices gained momentum, with other local Minervois growers too. By this time Trevor had purchased a house just along the Canal du Midi, a base for his wine explorations. Benjamin’s return ensured that this was not the only thing Trevor would buy.

In 2008 Benjamin and Trevor stood together staring at a derelict building which looked every inch as mediaeval as it was. Word had carried on the grapevine that it was à vendre, the only way such things are discovered, and at once all those late nights dreaming, scheming, arguing and tasting had culminated in this opportunity. Their fates were sealed.

It is Benjamin’s immense and pioneering skill, talent and knowledge, alongside Trevor and Benjamin’s shared vision and passion for best viticultural practice, which has transformed Boulevard Napoleon from a derelict building to the internationally respected benchmark of excellence that it has so quickly become.

Carignan and Cinsault grapes come from our own vineyard, L'Abeuradou. But Trevor and Benjamin's longstanding and deep relationships with local growers mean that they also enjoy first pick of their neighbours' best grapes, for which they are happy to pay a premium and offer their support and wide-reaching expertise. This gives them access to various parcels across a range of the different soil types found in La Livinière Cru AOC, including gravel, schist, sandstone and clay.

Since the story of each parcel is the story of land, relationships and community, each of the wines comes with its own distinct history of how it came to be, and each is a true and honest reflection of that year’s vintage. We do not work to quota, we work to quality. Some varietals are only made in good years. Some years are difficult, some are wonderful. But this means that the wines that we do make, in whatever quantity we feel able, are always good with the inherent ability to age and develop well.