France’s 50 best winemakers: Domaine Comte Abbatucci’s Jean-Charles Abbatucci

Owner of his family estate in Corsica and winemaker: “I was never any good as a conventional winemaker!”

The 17th interview in Le Figaro Vin’s series finds us in southern Corsica, where the luxuriant plots of Domaine Comte Abbatucci lie nestled in the heart of the Taravo Valley. We are here to meet Jean-Charles Abbatucci, #34, the island’s undisputed champion of biodynamic viticulture.

Domaine Comte Abbatucci is a living ampelographic museum of the Corsican wine region, with no fewer than 18 grape varieties grown alongside each other. With his hat firmly in place, and a pair of sunglasses hiding the twinkle in his eyes, the legendary winemaker that is Jean-Charles Abbatucci has acquired, over the course of many vintages, an encyclopaedic knowledge of all aspects of biodynamic viticulture. This knowledge extends from its history to its philosophy, with a dash of the esoteric.

While he describes himself as a pragmatist, he is constantly trying out new approaches, the most striking of which remains the treatment of vines with seawater. In the cellar, the wines range from those bearing the stamp of an outmoded nobility, from Ministre Impérial to Général de la Révolution, through to the cuvée named Faustine, after his daughter, available as a red, a white, and a rosé. Now a member of the Académie du vin de France, Jean-Charles Abbatucci embodies both the memory and the future of Corsican winegrowing.

Le Figaro Vin: How does it feel to be crowned a winemaking champion?

Jean-Charles Abbatucci: In my opinion being a champion is, above all, about giving expression to your terroir and to your grape varieties. It’s a particular vision of agriculture and the winemaker’s vocation.

Have you been training for long?

Yes, for 30 years now. When I started out, I was pretty conventional, doing what I could with the means at my disposal. But I was never any good as a conventional winemaker! One day, after ten years, something just clicked. This brought about my transition to organic and biodynamic agriculture, and the results of that transformation are what have made me a champion.

Who is your mentor?

From the 2000s onwards my mentor has been nature. When you take a step in her direction, she takes ten towards you. She can be capricious, admittedly, but then we are too. You have to be able to deal with that, assess the situation, and challenge yourself.

Is wine a team sport?

Yes, of course. The more you are a champion, the more you need a strong support team. Ultimately it is the athlete or the winemaker that lifts the trophy, but, behind the scenes, the winemaker benefits from the different perspectives that can be provided by an oenologist, a vineyard manager, etc.

What is the key to making a good wine? The terroir or the winemaker?

It is all of them together. I believe that there is an alchemy between the terroir, the winemaker, and nature.

To what do you owe your success?

In my case, to my father who was responsible for the preservation of the historic Corsican grape varieties. If he hadn’t been inspired to collect them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. But I must also acknowledge that I am fortunate to enjoy an exceptional terroir and a wonderful island.

Is your family proud of you?

Yes, they are all very proud. I have a very close working relationship with my brothers, one of whom is a restaurateur, the other a farmer. We are always bouncing ideas around.

Who is your biggest supporter?

It has to be nature, yet again. She gives me everything, not least the traditional Corsican grape varieties.

Your favourite colour? 

Red.

Your favourite grape variety?

Sciaccerello. It’s a grape that provides unbelievable results when you know how to work with it, a kind of wild Pinot Noir, which displays finesse, elegance, and an aroma suggestive of myrtle and immortality. I also incline towards Carcajolo Nero, a variety that is highly characteristic of Corsica. I really struggle to choose between the two.

Your favourite wine?

For now, the one which truly stands the test of time remains Ministre Impérial, but the one which most fully expresses Carcajolo Nero would be my Cuvée Valle di Mare (vinified since 2019 and produced from vines treated with seawater, ed.).

Your favourite vintage?

2017 is a really lovely vintage. It was a temperate year which provided outstanding wines.

If your wine was a person, who would it be?

My wine personifies Corsica.

What are the best circumstances in which to taste your wine?

At any time, around a meal. It is a wine for epicures.

Have you ever thought about chemically enhancing yourself, or your wine? 

No. I did it in my early days before I realised that it doesn’t work.

For what price would you be prepared to sell your estate?

It is priceless.

Who is your strongest competition?

The weather. You can lose a bit at every stage, and you can never get it back. In the end, you count your losses, and then you have to let them go. But if it’s my enemy, it’s also my life. It is an alchemy of both these things.

Which competition do you dread the most?

The two most critical months are May and June. That’s when we have to be on a war footing, especially when, like me, you work without a safety net.

What is your greatest trophy?

Being appointed to the Académie du vin de France, that is very special. It is in recognition of my work, but also for Corsica, as I am the first member from our island. That has taken some time, when you consider that Corsica has been a winegrowing region for over 3,000 years!

What has been your most innovative strategy in the vineyard and in the cellar?

Treating vines with seawater. That is what has made me stand out from the crowd. I think we will hear more and more about these wines. In my opinion, they belong among the new wines of the 21st century. A number of winemakers are becoming interested in the concept, but the precise principle and formula are mine.

Who would be your ideal successor on the podium?

My daughter Faustine, who will take over the estate.

Le Figaro Vin June 12, 2023

Corsica / dry whites / Figaro / France / Red / Wine interview /

France’s 50 best winemakers: Patrimonio’s Muriel Giudicelli

Founder and first-generation winemaker of Domaine Giudicelli: “Making wine requires serious commitment”.   

For the fourth in Le Figaro Vin’s series, we cross the water to Patrimonio, in Corsica, where Muriel Giudicelli, #47, creates her exquisite island wines. Here she shares her journey as a self-taught winemaker, on land she cherishes with a deeply-felt love.

Le Figaro: How does it feel to be crowned a winemaking champion?

Muriel Giudicelli: I am very proud for my appellation and for raising the profile of Patrimonio. I am a first-generation winemaker in Corsica, not a Corsican by birth. I want to play my part as an ambassador for this splendid terroir.

Have you been training for long?

From the age of thirteen! I have always been in it for the long haul. Wine was a shared family passion, which gave me an early appreciation of it and spared me the messy pitfalls of adolescent drinking.

Who is your mentor?

My parents, who were engaged in a continual tug of war. My father was on team Bordeaux, my mother team Burgundy. So I was the fortunate beneficiary of a double initiation, even if I have to acknowledge that Burgundy won out.

Is wine a team sport?

Yes, absolutely, as embodied in our estate: my husband takes care of the vines while I take care of the wine. And our team is soon going to get bigger, as our children are joining us. That makes me very happy and it will keep our egos in check.

What is the key to making a good wine? The terroir or the winemaker?

The terroir. A great winemaker can make a decent fist of inferior terroir but never a great wine. On the other hand, on good terroir, even a poor winemaker given a fair wind, who sits back and largely lets nature take its course, has a chance of producing something good.

To what do you owe your success?

I was lucky to love cooking, combining the right ingredients with a good sense of taste, without ever following recipes. I use the same process in my cellar. While my daughter is studying cookery, I don’t think that studying viticulture and oenology is essential, because you are always having to unlearn what you have learnt. In order to make wine you need to know how to taste, think ahead creatively, and, above all, make the best of what you’ve got. It all comes down to balance.

Are your parents proud of you?

Yes, very proud. They are great wine lovers. That said, my father is completely partisan. Even when my first efforts at winemaking were dreadful, he was full of praise. My mother, who taught in primary schools, has a discerning palate and strictly objective standards. As a result, she is far harder to please. When she tells me that a wine is “not bad”, that’s a real compliment.

Your favourite colour? 

Red. Because it’s hard to mess up a white wine in Patrimonio.

The king of grape varieties?

Niellucciu (a red grape variety native to Patrimonio, ed.). It has the temperament of a Corsican, so you need to handle it with tact and diplomacy. You must always take pains to understand it. I didn’t understand it when I started, so that drinking my wines was truly like scaling your teeth.

Your favourite wine?

A blend of Niellucciu and Sciaccarellu, which comes out in 2024. Its name will be Terra Ros (Red Earth, ed.) because the vines are rooted in red clay soil.

Your favourite vintage?

2016, for both reds and whites.

If your wine was a person, who would it be?

I hope it is like me.

What are the best circumstances in which to taste your wine?

Among friends around a good meal. The psychological factor plays a big part in tasting, perhaps even more than the wine itself.

Have you ever thought about chemically enhancing yourself, or your wine? 

I used additives when I started, not knowing how to vinify. I was all over the place, trying out different concoctions, which is why I want to spare my children from making the same mistakes. It was truly sad, I was hopeless.

For what price would you be prepared to sell your estate?

The question has come up, because there was a long period when my children didn’t want to take it on. But we could never bring ourselves to fix a price, because of our visceral attachment to our land. I cannot put a price on it.

Who is your strongest competition in Corsica?

Rather than a competitor, it is someone who has been much more a mentor. Antoine Arena’s opinion really matters to me and he was the person who helped me get established. I think that, by now, I have earned his approval, which is a big thing, because he has an overall responsibility for the appellation. I would hate to disappoint him. He is something of a spiritual father to me.

What has been your most innovative strategy in the vineyard and in the cellar?

A battle I won with myself. I had some pretty fixed ideas when I started and didn’t believe in temperature regulation. Although I remain convinced that it’s a heresy in the case of white wines, I was forced to use it to deal with a micro fungus which affects the vines we use for my reds. This has required maintaining a temperature of around 25°C. I now realise that this has greatly improved the tannin extraction. It has markedly changed the profile of my reds.

Who would be your ideal successor on the podium?

I hope it will be my children. They have learnt that making wine is not just about having fun; it’s a serious business, which requires serious commitment. It is also a commitment to the appellation.

 

 

Le Figaro Vin March 3, 2023

classement / Corsica / Figaro / France / Interview /