Berligou, the Breton version of Pinot Noir
Claude Chapuis
claude.chapuis@bsb-education.com
Motivated by an increasing authoritarianism and a strong centralizing will, King Louis XI antagonized the Dukes of the Kingdom of France who felt his policy was at their expense. Cousins Francis II of Brittany and Charles the Bold, of Burgundy wanted to maintain the independence of their Duchies. At that time, the great of this world were used to offering presents to one another. In as early as the1460s, Charles of Charolais, son of Duke Philip the Good, “landlord of the best wines of Christianity” offered cuttings of Pinot to his cousin.
They were replanted in Guérande and also on a hill Northwest of Nantes, which benefited from a Southern exposition. There, Pinot was called berligou because it grew in plot bearing that name. In 1488, after being defeated by the king of France, Francis II retreated in Couëron where he had planted his cousin’s cuttings. His daughter Ann of Brittany successively married two kings of France: Charles VIII and Louis XII. Lots of legends were told about her. She is supposed to have been an active ambassador of Berligou. It was rumored that she spoke very highly on its behalf wherever she went.
The red wines of Nantes became fashionable during the Renaissance. The beloved King of France Henry IV was heard to say: “My God! How good it is! The Dukes of Brittany didn’t do things by halves!” His grandson, the Sun King was offered berligou when he visited Nantes.
Whereas many Breton vineyards were destroyed during the French revolution, Couëron survived but the château was destroyed. The quality of berligou, which had given “some of the best wines of France” declined in the 19th century. Downy mildew and Phylloxera completed the destruction work and berligou sank into oblivion. In 1930, Nurseryman Joseph Picot discovered old, damaged plants of berligou in the fallow land of Couëron. He grafted and planted 177 of them. All except 5 were accidentally pulled out during the second World War. When peace returned, Joseph Picot’s son multiplied these 5. In 2003 an ampelographic study revealed that it was “a rare cultivar which existed nowhere else.” The first harvest of the newly rediscovered berligou occurred in 2014. An analysis showed that owing to a natural mutation which has taken place in the course of centuries, its genetic profile has somehow altered. It is slightly different from its Burgundian ancestor. It has adapted to the Breton terroir so well that it is now considered an indigenous cultivar.
Claude Chapuis was born in Aloxe-Corton from a winegrowers’ family. My ancestors started their company in 1850. Very early, I helped my parents with such tasks as picking and burning canes during the pruning season, trimming vines in summer and picking grapes in autumn and hated every minute of it. I renewed with viticulture when I found temp work in a winery of the Napa Valley. Since then, when in need of money I applied for jobs in Germany, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and more recently Chile. I have received no formal viticultural education but started writing articles mostly about history and wine culture. After teaching English, French as a foreign language and French culture for many years at BSB, I was appointed viticulture teacher in the school of wine & spirits business.